Devon approached a couple who had been there since he’d arrived. He introduced himself and asked if they’d seen the accident. They said they were out for a walk, heard a loud crash, and came up on the scene as it looked before the police arrived. They said they didn’t hear any cries for help, just an eerie silence after the initial hit.
“Are you the ones who called 911?”
“It was me.” Devon turned around to see a young woman standing behind him.
“You saw the accident happen?”
“Not exactly. I saw the aftermath like those people did, but maybe a few seconds sooner. I did see the Corvette at the stop sign, and then it just shot into the intersection.”
“Shot, like he gunned it?”
“Yeah. I mean, there was no way the driver couldn’t have seen the minivan coming.”
“Did you see a vehicle directly behind the Corvette?”
“No, sorry, only the actual crash. It happened so fast, and I was focused on that. I knew the crash was inevitable, so I ripped my phone from my pocket and made the call.”
“Good thing you did.” Devon turned to the couple again. “So did either of you see a vehicle behind the Corvette? Maybe one that turned around and headed off in the opposite direction?”
They both shook their heads. “Like she said, it happened so fast. By the time we were going to call 911, that girl had already made the call.”
“Okay, I’ll need the contact information from all of you in case I have more questions.” He pulled out his phone and snapped pictures of each driver’s license then jotted down the corresponding phone numbers. “Thanks, folks. I appreciate your help.”
Rue heard someone call his name and looked over his shoulder. Royce was heading his way.
“What have we got, Rue?” he asked.
Devon shrugged. “Other than the people being removed from the vehicles, everything looks just like it did when I arrived.” He pointed. “The officers are keeping the scene intact and people away. Forensics en route?”
“Yep. Should be here soon. You said you saw Mitch?”
“Only as they were putting him in the rescue vehicle. He was unconscious, so I didn’t get his take on anything.”
“And the others?”
“They were already loaded up. I didn’t see either of them and have no idea yet who they are. Witnesses said they only saw what looked like the Corvette shoot out into the intersection and then get T-boned by the van.”
“So Mitch was at fault?”
Rue shook his head. “Not from my perspective. The rear end of the Corvette wouldn’t be damaged if that was the case.”
With a head jerk, Royce led the way. “Let’s have a closer look.”
They walked over to the crashed vehicles and saw that the obvious damage to both vehicles was due to the minivan slamming into the passenger side of Mitch’s Corvette.
“Mitch had the stop sign, and the minivan was on a through street. Unless he didn’t see the van coming and pulled out into the intersection, the only way the accident could have happened is if he was rear-ended,” Royce said.
“Exactly, and if we find paint, plastic, or glass on the street behind the Corvette, then there was a definite hit.” Rue gave Royce a concerned glance. “Yet if it was an accidental hit, the driver would have stuck around.”
Rue grimaced when he looked at the crunched back of the Corvette. The cargo area, although small, was jammed up against the seats.
“So Cannon took a hit from the back, which launched him forward, where he got slammed in the side. Are you sure he isn’t seriously injured?”
“I’m not sure. The EMTs said he was stable. I guess that doesn’t tell us much.”
Royce pointed at the ground. “There aren’t any skid marks behind Mitch’s car. The person in the vehicle that hit him didn’t apply their brakes.” He pointed at what was left of the rear of the Corvette. “And green paint scuffs on a white car stand out like a sore thumb. That’s something to take note of. We need Forensics to go through this mess with a fine-tooth comb. There could be glass, metal pieces, or even parts of the headlight or blinker plastic that might have partial serial numbers on them.”
Rue noticed the Forensics van slowing to a stop just outside the police tape. “Speaking of Forensics, we need to get Martin and Billy working on this debris right away.”
Even from their distance, Rue heard Martin’s colorful words. He’d always loved Mitch’s Corvette and had been saving up to buy one of his own.
Letting out a loud whistle to get their attention, Royce waved them over.
“Holy shit,” Billy said. “Is Mitch okay?”
“Don’t know anything yet other than he’s stable, but by the deployed air bags in the other vehicle, I’d probably say those folks are in better shape. Right now, I need you two to scoop up everything you can find on the pavement at the rear of the Corvette. Somebody hit Mitch from behind, deliberately or not, but they didn’t stick around for the cops to arrive, and I want to know why.”
“You got it, sir. We’ll take all of the debris back to the lab, where we have bright lights and magnifying glasses.”
“Yep, do whatever you can to find full or partial serial numbers on anything.”
“Anything else of question beyond the obvious skid mark measurements from the van?”
“Yeah, take Mitch’s car back, too, and make sure the brakes were fine. Dust the outside door and handle too.”
“Not a problem. What takes priority?”
“Get your measurements done here at the scene, take the debris back to the lab, then have the tow truck take the Corvette to the evidence garage. Patrol needs to open this street back up. I’ll have to find out what’ll be done with that minivan and if any family members were contacted.”
“Roger that, sir. We’ll get on it right now.”
Royce tipped his head at Rue. “Let’s see if Patrol got in touch with the family for the people from the van.”
They walked to one of the three patrol officers keeping the scene secure.
“Anything on the family of the other injured people?”
“Yep, they’ve been notified. A tow truck is coming for the van, and the next of kin, I believe a sister and her husband, are heading to Mercy.”
“Good. I’m sure the van doesn’t hold any evidentiary value for us, but we do need to find out who hit Mitch and why they took off.”
Rue spoke up. “If Forensics can get a scraping of that green paint off the Corvette, they may be able to match it to a certain make and model of vehicle.”
Royce nodded. “And if Abraham Norris was driving said green vehicle, then maybe his killer has taken over that vehicle and his duties now. Mitch might be safer right where he’s at.”