FORT MYERS, Fla. — Investigators with the Fort Myers Police Department are working to piece together how five teens involved in a deadly crash ended up driving into a lake in Fort Myers last Sunday night.
Investigators told Fox 4 they believe speed was a factor.
The process is called "imaging." Doctor Dave Thomas, a policing expert with Florida Gulf Coast University, spoke with Fox 4 about the general process of determining a vehicle's speed after an accident.
“They have an instrument called a Faro laser instrument and it literally measures everything that you point it at, it measures it to the umpteenth degree. So they will be able to measure if there is a tread pattern, like when they came off the road, it will tell that story,” said Dr. Thomas.
That story will help FMPD investigators determine how fast Jesus Salinas, Amanda Ferguson, Breanna Coleman, Eric Paul and Jackson Eyre were going late Sunday night before driving into the lake.
“And I'm not sure if water is going to have an impact on it but the computers in the vehicle pretty much can tell you how fast they were going, what time the accident occurred,” said Dr. Thomas.
Piecing together a timeline for friends and loved ones who are holding on to the times they spent together.
“I just saw Amanda the day before it happened,” said Lylah Law.
That anguish now turning to action with an online petitioncalling for better road safety measures on TopGolf Way.
Dr. Thomas told Fox 4 it will take time for both answers and action.
“You really have to give the investigators time because what the public wants now is immediacy to everything, and when you're talking about a crime scene and you are talking about these investigations literally constructing this incident, that is going to take time," said Dr. Thomas.
If you have any information on the crash or what led up to the accident, please contact SWFL CrimeStoppers by clicking here.
