TAVARES, Fla. — A Lake County family is pushing for justice for their son after he was hit and killed while riding his motorcycle on a rural road in Tavares in September.
Audrey Green said the pain is as fresh as the tears rolling down her face.
"He was our first-born," she said. "I called the person Josh rode to work with every morning and I said, 'Josh is at work, right?' So I knew. It was at that moment that I knew."
Josh Green was hit and killed while riding his motorcycle at the intersection of County Roads 561 and 448. The driver at fault, Theodore Wells, was cited for failure to yield the right of way during a left turn.
9 Investigates uncovered a history of traffic infractions for Wells in Lake County. His record, dating back to 1999, includes violations for driving on a suspended license, speeding, refusing to obey traffic laws and careless driving.
It adds to the questions the Green family wants answered by the Tavares Police Department.
"Why did they not push the issue of asking him, 'Why did you not see him?'" Audrey Green said.
The only eyewitness of the incident filed a complaint because he said the officer who responded to the crash refused to take his statement at the scene.
"At the time of the investigation of the crash, he didn't find probable cause to determine if there was impairment," Lt. Clevett Jones, of the of the Tavares Police Department, said.
FHP is now doing what the department is calling an informal courtesy review, which is different from what the city attorney recommended in this email obtained by 9 Investigates.
The attorney authorized the city manager to bring in an outside agency to review allegations there wasn't a complete and sufficient investigation and the responding officer had a "conflict of interest with the defendant."
The family points to video they obtained from the courthouse. They believe the officers interactions with the defendant raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
"We feel like they literally just want us to go away, and we're not," Green said.
Jones said an officer has to treat someone fair and his actions appear appropriate when interacting with someone.
The responding officer's personnel file showed he was fired from the Lady Lake Police Department for failure to complete a field training officer program. He was also charged with petit theft for stealing from Target and went through a teen court program.
The officer also has traffic violations for failure to obey traffic control device and unlawful speed.
Cox Media Group
