By: Bryn Mickie

To the untrained eye, they look like everyday police officers called out to investigate traffic crashes. But behind the scenes, the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team (FACT) is a crack unit that has made a mark investigating serious injury accidents where drug or alcohol is suspected. In one of the team’s cases, a judge exceeded the recommended sentencing guidelines for a Mt. Morris woman who was drunk when she crashed into a car, killing the driver.

The woman could have received as little as 29 months in prison, but the judge opted for 10 to 15 years. “This (team) is a model for the rest of the country,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton. Through the first 11 months of 2007, the countywide team investigated 29 crashes in which 15 people lost their lives.

The concept was based on a similar program in Indiana, but the local version is more far reaching. The team, created in 2006, draws 17 investigators from area agencies with knowledge of such issues as black box technology and computer-assisted techniques.

“Those skills can be a nightmare to a defense attorney looking to poke holes in a police investigation,” said the unit commander, State Police Sergeant Timothy Robbins.

When Robbins began investigating crashes 12 years ago, he pulled a tape measure along the road and tried to figure out what happened-a process that could close the road for several hours. Even then, he said, the report would hedge with words such as “appears” and would have no firm estimate on the speed of the crash.

Nowadays, Robbins said measurements are a snap with computer technology, while air bag sensors tell police how fast a car was going when it crashed.

“We used to have 7 of the 20 pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,” said Robbins. “Now we’ve got 15 to 16 pieces. We can see a lot more of the picture.”

Not only has that paid off for prosecutors, but it’s also an advantage for motorists.

“We can reopen the road in a couple of hours,” said Robbins.

But what about the future?

Overtime for the investigators and two prosecutors assigned to the unit is funded by grants approved on a yearly basis. The team is already set for 2008, but there is no guarantee the necessary $180,000 in funding will come through for a third year.

With police budgets around the county already stretched, Leyton said he hopes to bolster the argument for more grant funding by eventually expanding the team to include investigators and prosecutors in Lapeer and Shiawasee counties.

Some of the members of the FACT team accepting their award. (l-r): Grand Blanc Township Chief David Stamm; Prosecutor David Leyton; Flint Township Sergeant and FACT Team Leader Tim Jones; Chair of the Governor’s Safety Advisory Commission Robert Morris; Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Potbury; MSP Sergeant and FACT Team Commander Timothy Robbins; and Flint Township Police Chief George Sippert.

Editor’s Note: Bryn Mickie is a reporter for the Flint Journal. He can be contacted at bmickie@flintjournal.com or (810) 766-6383. More information on the FACT team can be obtained by contacting David Leyton, Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney at (810) 257-3210.

Footnote: An example of the team going to the scene and investigating a crash is that on April 7, 2008, a 19 year old Genesee Township man was killed in a two vehicle crash. The Genesee County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team is still investigating the case and it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Genesee Township Police Chief Donald Stewart said at this point in the investigation it appears the man crossed the center line and struck a vehicle head-on driven by a Clio-area woman, 25, who suffered minor injuries in the crash. Her passenger, a Clio-area woman, 28, was uninjured. The Genesee man was alone in his vehicle.

Footnote: The Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission honored the Genesee County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team with the 2007 Outstanding Traffic Safety Achievement Award for its multi-jurisdictional team approach toward investigating alcohol-related injuries and fatal crashes with the goal of 100 percent conviction rate. The award clearly recognizes the accomplishments of the FACT team, whose dedication, energy, and commitment to traffic safety have saved countless lives.