Is there a license to kill on Houston roadways?

09:42 AM CST on Tuesday, November 30, 2004

By Jeremy Rogalski / 11 News

Click to watch Jeremy Rogalski's report

Are some people driving recklessly and getting away with homicide? The 11 News Defenders explored the question: Is there a license to kill on Houston roadways?

Some crime fighters say there is just that, because the city's police force is so undertrained and underequipped it can't properly investigate deadly crashes that are not just accidents, they're crimes.

You don't have to understand their language, to see and feel their pain and agony over what happened to their loved one at a Houston intersection.

And anger over what hasn't happen.

KHOU-TV

Proving that deadly crashes, are in fact, crimes requires scientific detective work.

"It was clear that the guy was just making a turn, the light was green," said Cindy Rachel, witness.

She saw it all, how Martin Ramirez had the right of way, and how the other driver who was speeding, she says, "clearly misses the fact that there is a red light."

"They smacked each other," said Rachel, who added all she could think was, "Oh, my God."

The husband and father of three was airlifted from the scene and later died.

"I don't know how to explain it," Martin's wife Gloria Ramirez said, through a translator. "I just feel so lonely."

Her loneliness over what wasn't just an accident.

"That should have been a homicide case," said Warren Diepraam, assistant district attorney for Harris County.

But it never became one. "Somebody dropped the ball," said Diepraam.

Dropped the ball because there wasn't a complete and thorough investigation when the accident happened. Dropped the ball because according to a report from the Harris County District Attorney's office, "there were no measurements taken at the time, no photos, no notation of skid marks ... since there was no scene investigation, there is insufficient evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent."

So no charges were filed.

"That's not acceptable," said Diepraam.

Proving that deadly crashes, are in fact, crimes requires scientific detective work.

A surveying/mapping instrument is a high-tech piece of equipment to do that science and it costs $8,000 to $9,000.

It's equipment that some agencies buy, such as the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

"You've got to have the tools and the training to present expert testimony in court," said Lt. John Denholm of the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

Otherwise reckless drivers can walk free and insiders say that's happening with Houston Police Department cases.

"It's just terrible," said Sam, one recent HPD accident investigator, who wished to remain anonymous. "If we ask for equipment they say well you didn't have it last year, why do you need it this year?"

And so Sam says officers are forced to dip into their own pockets to buy cameras, measuring wheels, even laptop computers that work because the city-issued gear often doesn't.

"We're just not in a position right now to buy everything that we need," said Police Chief Harold Hurtt, who took the job in March.

When asked if he sees a problem in assigning someone to do a job and not giving him the basic tools to do that job?

"Well, I don't know if we're not giving them the basic tools to do that job," said Hurtt.

But HPD, at one point, investigators tell us, wouldn't even buy spray paint to mark up a scene -- spray paint that costs just a few bucks a can.

And that's not all.

"Some officers are spenindg thousands of dollars to get their own training," said Sam. "It's been the norm for several, several years."

And frustrated cops have put it in writing, like a blistering letter to the police chief and others in which an officer wrote, "I'm appalled that our department is not willing to equip or train officers in the Traffic Division ... proper fatality investigations should be one of the top priorities."

"It's very aggravating," said Diepraam.

It should aggravate anyone who drives Houston's roads, the prosecutor says, because if their loved one is killed, no one may be held accountable in court because HPD's investigations may not hold up at trial.

"It translates into people getting away with homicide," said Diepraam.

"A city this size ... this is the place that you can drive down the roadway and kill somebody probably and nothing will happen to you," said Sam.

And the Ramirez family says they know, they're still waiting for a resolution but without much hope.

"There's no justice.. there's nothing being done," said Gloria Ramirez.

"We were waiting, hoping for an answer, because this was a crime," said Elvira Martinez, the victim's aunt.

Turns out, Chief Hurtt tells us HPD has now reopened its investigation into the death of Martin Ramirez and he hopes to have some answers for the family soon.

The Chief concedes his accident investigation unit is an area needing improvement.