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Last updated on Thursday, July 26, 2018
(SOUTH BEND) - Investigators are questioning whether a speeding police cruiser’s siren was sounding when it collided with a car in northern Indiana, killing a young single mother.
The St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team is investigating last Friday's crash that killed Erica Flores, 22. Video footage from a business near the crash won't be released out of respect for Flores' two daughters, ages 3 and 4, according to prosecutors.
Tom Dixon, an attorney for Flores' family who saw the footage, said it shows South Bend officer Justin Gorny had his emergency lights on when colliding with Flores' vehicle at an intersection. But the attorney said it's unclear in the video if Gorny turned on the cruiser's siren because the footage did not have audio, the South Bend Tribune reported .
The footage, originally obtained by the newspaper, also raises the question whether a second officer was speeding at the time of the crash. One cruiser is shown passing by without its emergency lights on two blocks before the collision, followed seconds later by a second cruiser with lights on, according to the newspaper.
The Police Department is conducting its own investigation, which will focus on the department's training and policies.
Officers are allowed to exceed a posted speed limit when driving in "emergency mode," but they must use both lights and sirens to "warn the public of the officer's response operation," according to the department's duty manual. Officers can disable the siren only if the call requires a "silent" response, the manual said.
"Even when operating a vehicle in emergency mode the law holds officers legally responsible to drive with due regard for safety of all people," the manual said.
Emergency mode is considered appropriate if a call involves a person at risk of bodily injury, a felony crime in progress or if the officer is pursuing a fleeing suspect or responding to a call to help another officer.
Investigators declined to discuss the footage or what Gorny was responding to when the collision occurred.
Flores had a reputation in her local Hispanic community as a hardworking, devoted single mother and parishioner, according to the Rev. Kevin Bauman of Our Lady of Hungary. He said Flores "always put her children first."
Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com
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