No charges 1 year after impaired driver killed 911 operator in wrong-way Lodge crash
FOX 2 - One year ago a wrong-way driver suspected to be under the influence on the Lodge near I-75 hit and killed an innocent 911 operator.
Over a year later and the driver has never been charged. Now attorney Geoffrey Fieger is involved and looking for help from the public.
"This has never happened in my 41 years of practice," Fieger said.
Fieger was hired by the family of Vanessa Simmons following her death in December of 2019.
"Vanessa was a 911 operator for the city of Detroit, she was the mother of two," Fieger said.
Simmons' BMW was struck by a pick-up going the wrong way on M10 near I-75. According to MSP police reports, the driver blew a point 22 after the crash. The legal limit is .08.
"It is super drunk under the statute," Fieger said. "Why he has been released, not charged, it's beyond me."
Fieger says this appears to have the makings of an open and shut case. According to police reports the suspect was questioned in the hospital and when asked if he was drinking he told the trooper, "Of course I did."
Police also say there is a security video from the casino of the crash. Despite the evidence a year and one month later, the case has seemingly gone nowhere.
"This is not acceptable," a 911 operator killed by a wrong-way driver and no charges are being brought."
Michigan State Police says the case was handed to the Wayne County prosecutor in February of 2020. But the prosecutor's office says the case was handed back to police for further investigation, which is where it stands now.
Fieger says there is something that can be done while the family waits for justice. He says if anyone knows where the suspect was drinking beforehand if you know the establishment where the suspect bought the alcohol, he would like to know - so he can hold them responsible as well.
There is a lawsuit by Fieger on behalf of the family for $25.000 or more - but there are still aspects of the case still under investigation.