Gary Police Say They Did Search For Victims

Monday, September 17, 2007

Gary Police Department officials defend and explain their actions at the auto accident scene where two victims were left behind, reports ABC 7 News Chicago.

The call to police came from a house five blocks away from the 2700 block of Chase Street where the accident occurred and was a report of suspicious people instead of a personal injury accident.

Police say that they did search for victims and the two crash survivors couldn't remember if the two victims were still in the car or if they had been dropped off before the accident.

An accident victim disputes the police's account, however.

"So the officers did search the area. They even had the car lifted and looked underneath the vehicle to see if the bodies had been there. Finding none, the accident report at that time was completed, and the area was cleared and the vehicle towed," said Sam Roberts, Gary Police Department.
Police were not originally called to the scene of the accident. They were called to the house where two men who survived the crash went immediately after the accident. The person who lived there made the call -- which was reported as a suspicious persons call, not an accident.
"That's how our call came up. We're talking five blocks from the actual accident scene, not even knowing there had been an accident. There are two people knocking at a door. Somebody calls and says that there are suspicious people at my house. Police respond to that call," said Thomas Houston, Gary police chief.
Police said when they talked to the two survivors they said they couldn't remember if they had dropped off the victims before the crash. But Darius Moore, who was driving the car at the time of crash, said that wasn't the case.