A local family is telling FOX 47 News their side of the story after a car accident involving a Meridian Township police officer on Sunday.
It happened at the intersection of Marsh and Newman roads in Okemos when police were responding to a larceny call.
The driver of the truck, Chasity Thor, says she saw the police car coming down the road with its lights on, but didn't hear sirens. She says she and her family were sitting at a red light and watched the vehicle come toward them with nowhere to go.
"It was crazy because I felt so helpless. I couldn't reverse, pull forward, move out of the way. I was just like, this is happening," Thor said.
The truck that Thor, Wayne Weigel, and their daughter were in was smashed and totaled after rolling. The family says they had to crawl out of the wreckage, and Weigel, Thor and another person helped get her daughter out.
"We were sideways. I unbuckled my seat belt and I, like, Spideman-moved to my daughter. Somehow I flipped and was just there to make sure her fingers (and) her ears were there. Like, she's straight, I can see her eyes," Thor added.
The family says that, although their truck is totaled, they are just happy their family is OK.
"I don't like to get caught up in the what-ifs, but still, like, what if? Over sirens and not pausing in a cross-section," Thor said.
"My daughter could have been killed," Weigel added.
The lack of sirens scares them the most. In addition, the family told News 10 they haven't heard from the department since the crash.
Lt. Rick Grillo of Meridian Police says the department encourages their officers to drive safely when out responding to calls and, unfortunately, accidents like this can happen.
"As far as the family goes, we hope everyone is safe and everybody is OK after the accident. We understand that this can be traumatic for anyone involved and we just wish them the best," he said.
The family says they hope sharing their story will prevent other crashes in the future involving police officers.
"They're going to make mistakes like that, but hopefully these mistakes don't end up like this. It could have been way worse," Weigel said.
Meridian Township police confirmed the officer's sirens were not on.
FOX 47 News asked them what the standard protocol was when it comes to sirens. They said there are times when cars don't need to use them if the lights are on. They said they are still investigating if this was one of those instances.
One person was injured in the crash and went to the hospital. The officer who was driving the car was not injured.
