Family of crash victims wants answers from Suffolk County police
SUFFOLK COUNTY, Long Island (PIX11) -- A Long Island family is looking for answers after their loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury in a weekend car crash.
The 22-year-old from East Northport was a passenger in a ride share. The family says police are giving them conflicting information about who hit him.
James King's family says they got a knock at the door early Saturday morning. A police officer handed them an initial piece of paperwork that listed a 57-year-old man as the driver of a car that hit the Uber King was riding in.
The next day at the hospital, the family says other detectives claimed the driver of the car responsible for the crash was a 17-year-old who happened to be the son of a Suffolk County detective.
The family says they have gotten no answers since then.
King suffered a serious brain injury and is currently sedated at the hospital. His sister says they can't get answers as to why the initial accident report said the driver of the car that hit the Uber was a 57-year-old Suffolk County detective when they've been told since that his 17-year-old son was driving and ran a stop sign at Saratoga Avenue and Elwood Road.
They don't know if there was a breathalyzer done.
Witnesses told PIX11 News that there was a car full of teenagers driving the car that hit the Uber, not a 57-year-old man.
The family wants answers and questions if this is being handled differently because it involves a police family. "It doesn't make sense. None of it makes sense and my brother is lying in the ICU," said Amanda, James' sister. "He deserves a regular normal investigation."
Suffolk police initially did not put out a news release about the crash that happened early Saturday morning when they typically put out other crash investigations.
PIX11 News requested information and received a response that three people were injured but no other details other than the major case squad was investigating were provided.
The Suffolk County DA's Office would not comment on whether it is now handling the case and referred PIX11 News back to the police.