By
Leisa Zigman,
I-Team Reporter
(KSDK)
-- It has been five
months since an Illinois
State Police officer
lost control of his
patrol car, crossed over
a grassy median at 126
miles per hour, and
slammed into the car of
two Collinsville
sisters.
Eighteen-year-old Jessica
and 13-year-old Kelli Uhl
died instantly.
There are thousands of
dedicated troopers, risking
their lives everyday in
Missouri and Illinois, to
keep the public safe.
With that said, the I-Team's
analysis of nearly 4,000
reports exposes some
disturbing revelations.
Jessica and Kelli Uhl were
the best of friends. They
grew up together; they
laughed together.
And on the day after
Thanksgiving 2007, they died
together.
Their tragic and sudden
deaths prompted the I-Team
to examine thousands of
state records from Illinois
and Missouri.
"This accident was so
tragic, so horrible," said
Tom Keefe, the Uhl's family
attorney.
The Uhl sisters were heading
home after attending a
holiday family photo shoot.
It was a sunny day, just
after noon, when Illinois
State Police Officer Matthew
Mitchell lost control of his
car and crossed over into
oncoming traffic.
He was driving 126 miles per
hour en route to an
accident.
"The force this generated is
just unimaginable," Keefe
said.
Witnesses described it as an
explosion. Trooper Mitchell
literally drove through
their car. The force
separated the engine and the
engine block from the body
of the car."
It was not trooper
Mitchell's first accident.
Court records show in
August, 2004, a jury in
Peoria County ordered the
Illinois State Police to pay
$1.7 million to Nicholas
Damron.
Damron was a passenger in a
car hit by Officer Mitchell.
The accident that resulted
in the death of the Uhl
sisters was Mitchell's
third.
In the past six years,
NewsChannel 5 found troopers
were involved in more than
3,300 accidents in Missouri
and Illinois. That averages
out to one and one half
accidents a day. Data shows
nearly 15 percent of those
accidents resulted in
injury.
ISP agreed to talk about the
I-Team's analysis of its
internal data, but because
of the upcoming trial,
officials would not comment
on the Mitchell case.
Lt. Scott Compton, chief
spokesperson for the ISP,
said there is no maximum
speed limit troopers can
drive, and he was not sure
whether anyone has
considered revising the
policy.
Troopers and state police
have weapons training three
to four times each year, but
they only receive driver
training when they are
cadets in the academy.
After graduation, there is
no mandated refresher course
or advanced driver training;
there's no other training at
all.
In an entire 20 or 30 year
career, experts said
troopers may only fire their
weapon once, but will drive
at high speeds almost daily.
Ron Kelley has been in law
enforcement for the past 27
years and is affiliated with
the Association of Law
Enforcement Emergency
Response Trainers and the
International Law
Enforcement Educators and
Trainers Association. He
travels the country teaching
advanced driving classes to
police and troopers.
"If they have not had any
training since they were in
the academy, Leisa, humans
resort back to bad habits.
They become complacent. They
need to be reminded," Kelley
said. "Eighty percent of
their career is behind the
wheel of a vehicle and
operating at very high
speeds. That training needs
to be emphasized."
Kimberly Cochran, ISP
Academy Commander, does not
agree with Kelley's
philosophy.
"We don't do the driving
because the officers use
that skill every day. They
drive over 45 million miles
a year and they use those
skills daily," Cochran said.
Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt.
Mark Wilson teaches
emergency driving
instruction. He supports
advanced yearly training but
admits cost and logistics
may prohibit it.
Sgt. Mark Wilson explained,
"Anytime you get any
training, no matter what it
is, it?s a good idea. It
enhances your skills
tremendously."
When an officer causes a
crash, ISP and MHP
investigate their own.
Officials defend the
practice by saying they have
the required expertise in
accident reconstruction.
But when asked whether they
ever had an external audit
of ISP investigations,
officials said they didn?t
know. When asked whether
they thought this would be a
good idea, again officials
said they didn?t know.
Alice Hambley of St. Peters,
Missouri, wishes they would
consider it.
In 2004, a speeding trooper
ran a red light and slammed
into her black Ford
Expedition. The crash
resulted in a four car
accident and left her badly
bruised. She could not
believe troopers found her
partially responsible for
the crash.
When asked whether troopers
should investigate
themselves, Hambley said,
"Heavens no. That does not
make sense."
Friends of the Uhl sisters
pray the senseless deaths of
Jessica and Kelli will leave
a legacy
that encourages law
enforcement to rethink the
need for advanced driver
training and to set limits
on extreme speed.
Multiple sources confirm
trooper Mitchell was talking
on his cell phone and
shoulder radio while driving
126 miles per hour.
Illinois State Police say
troopers are trained to
multi-task at high speeds.
But as we now know, that
training is not on-going or
yearly. In most cases,
driver training ends at the
academy.
In a recent court
appearance, Officer Mitchell
pleaded not guilty to two
counts of reckless homicide
and two counts of reckless
driving. If convicted, he
faces up to 16 years in
prison. Through his
attorney, he declined
requests for an interview.
The Uhl family knew
NewsChannel 5 was airing
this story in advance. They
provided new photographs of
Jessica and Kelli but did
not wish to be interviewed.
Of the more than 3,000
accidents, how many were
caused by troopers? In
Illinois, troopers were
involved in 2,289 accidents.
Investigators found them
at-fault in 635
accidents--almost 28
percent--over the past six
years.
Missouri officials claim
they have no idea how many
accidents troopers cause
because they don't track it.
Here is a break down of
additional data the I-Team
obtained:
Total number of
accidents from 2002-2007
Missouri: 1,024
170 average per year
Illinois: 2,288
381 average per year
Total number of at-fault
accidents from 2002-2007:
Illinois: 635
Missouri Highway Patrol did
not make this information
available.
Total number of injury
accidents from 2002-2007:
Missouri: 93
Illinois: 389
Top crashers:
Missouri:
Brian Geier - 6 crashes
Mark Hicks - 5 crashes
Roger Ogden - 5 crashes
Illinois State Police did not
make this information available.
Top Causes of Accidents:
Illinois:
205 accidents - Improper
backing
160 accidents - Failing to
reduce speed to avoid crash
126 accidents - Failure to
yield right of way
As a fleet, the Illinois State
Police average approximately one
accident for every 118,000 miles
driven. The Missouri Highway
Patrol averaged a slightly
better record, with one accident
for every 147,000 miles driven.
Ron Kelley, an emergency vehicle
training expert, sent several
reasons why yearly advanced
driver training of troopers and
police is necessary. Below are
his statements.
"1. Operating a motor vehicle is
a diminishing skill. The bad
part is our prior training has
set our human behavior and
humans do not like nor want to
accept change. Very few people,
including law enforcement have
ever had any quality training in
the operations on a vehicle. We
first began our learning process
by watching our parents and
older siblings drive. Who taught
them? The same as taught us.
"Understanding the physical make
up of a vehicle and the induced
dynamics from the drive's input
of acceleration, steering and
braking, which induces pitch,
roll and yaw is completely
foreign language to most.
Depending on the size, weight
and center of gravity has
dramatic effects on the vehicle.
In law enforcement, many times
the increased speeds of
emergency responses and
vehicular pursuits increases
those effects and to a point
that the vehicle is in control
of the driver.
"2. My research shows that in
law enforcement, the average
officer will spend 80 percent of
their career behind a steering
wheel. Not encountering
felonious attacks. In a 25 year
career, the average for an
officer to draw and fire their
weapon in defense of themselves
or another is one time.
"Agencies will spend an average
of 40 hours at firearms training
and zero hours at the driving
range or classroom. having said
that, look at www.odmp.org which
is Officer Down Memorial Page.
You can clearly see that over
the last 5 years, a significant
rise in officers being killed in
or by vehicles has risen some 37
percent. We are killing
ourselves with vehicles, not by
felonious attacks.
"Agency administrators assume
that their officers know how to
drive and shouldn't have to
spend money providing them
training for driving. Although
they are quick to severely
punish an officer when they are
involved in an at fault
collision. So, could agencies be
liable of Depraved Indifference
or Culpable Negligence? That's
simply, knowing there is a
problem and ignoring corrective
measures to correct or prevent
it.
"3. There are so many different
vehicles now being utilized by
law enforcement and no one is
training the operators on the
dynamics, how to manage the
vehicle under various
conditions. Here's your new
patrol vehicle, now don't wreck
it. Each vehicle had certain
characteristics that must be
demonstrated and then practiced
by the operator before they
become comfortable with the
handling of that particular
vehicle.
"The more you practice, the
better you understand what to do
when. Practice does not make
perfect! Perfect practice makes
perfect and this is where a good
instructor can observe and
correct someone's driving.
Action is faster than reaction.
Training to the point that the
cognitive part of the brain
reacts from subconscious is far
better and faster than having to
take the extended time to think
it out and then react.
"4. Just because something has
not happened, doesn't mean it
won't in the future. This
creates three human actions, I
call 'C' words. We become
complacent, careless and
comfortable. All three are a
path to tragedy. More so in the
high risk field of law
enforcement.
"5. Law enforcement officers are
more likely to engage in an
emergency response or vehicular
pursuit than most other related
work encounters. These actions
lead to higher speed, increased
risk, quicker decisions and
endanger every person on the
roadway. Killing someone as the
result of an emergency vehicle
operating in emergency mode is
not "The Cost of Doing
Business," or "Collateral
Damage."
"Nowhere have I seen an accepted
practice of collateral damage in
law enforcement. Only in extreme
cases of military operations to
eliminate insurgents is
tolerated. Having said that,
training every officer on a
reoccurring basis will reduce
not just the number of emergency
and pursuit collisions but will
also reduce the daily
non-emergency driving
collisions.
"6. The marriage of the
vehicle's capabilities and the
driver's abilities should be the
ultimate goal in this training.
Most vehicles are capable of
doing a lot more than the
average person is aware.
Individual drivers attain
certain comfort levels when
operating a vehicle under
various conditions. So that
marriage becomes extremely
important.
"If I can't take a driver to
their next level of confidence
through training, then I have to
train them to the level they are
comfortable with. If I can't
demonstrate the vehicle's
maximum limit of operational
limits, how will anyone know
that limit or how to stay just
under that limit. The more of
the five senses you incorporate
in training the more we retain.
You have to Hear, See, Smell and
Touch, to totally grasp life and
driving. If it scares you when
learning, you will stay just
under the point of fright.
"7. Driving exercises and the
use of courses laid out with
traffic cones can and are
beneficial. As long as the
courses are thoroughly explained
and demonstrated for their goals
and objectives. Then re-enforced
through repetitive practice with
an instructor onboard for
correction and not condemnation.
These exercises should be
conducted at various speeds and
as close to actuality as
possible.
"8. Many agencies lack
instructors, funds and
facilities. If a good classroom
lecture of four to eight hours,
with video demonstrations and a
well versed facilitator, some
training is better than no
training at all. I have had
success with these presentations
in Avondale, Arizona, Great
Bend, Kansas and Limestone
County, Alabama.
In the movie "Field of Dreams,
the theme was "If you build it,
they will come." My theme is "If
you want it bad enough, you can
make it happen."
"9. False Sense of Security:
When officers operate under Code
3, lights and siren, they
immediately develop a false
since of security from the
emergency equipment. They
subconsciously assume that
everyone is mandated to see or
hear them and get out of the
way. Wrong assumption. Due to
the designs of vehicles, they
are somewhat soundproof. Average
speed induces wind noise,
moderate radio reduces outside
noises and conversation
redirects the hearing, along
with some other noise
distractions.
"At 1.5 feet per second of
travel distance at 1 mile per
hour, an emergency vehicle at
just 50 KPH is traveling 75 feet
per second. You do the math at
100 mph or even just 80 mph and
you will begin to understand
that we often out run the
projection of the siren. By the
time they hear it, we are
passing them. Now imagine a
vehicle traveling from the other
direction? I am sure you have
experienced this yourself.
"10. Due Regard has never been
clearly defined by the courts.
It appears in every statute and
policy regulating emergency
vehicles. One definition is,
what another reasonable officer
would have done under the same
environment and conditions at
the time to safeguard the lives
affected.
"11. Crash Dynamic facts: A
vehicle has far more probability
of killing more people in one
shot than any firearm. More
people are killed each year from
traffic crashes than any other
singular cause.
"Ever understood Kinetic Energy?
Take the weight of an object and
multiply that times the speed of
travel. A patrol car at an
average weight of 4,000 pounds
and traveling at 50 mph
generates 200,000 lbs. of
kinetic energy on impact. The
200 lb. human generates 10,000
lbs. and a 2 lb. heart will
strike the chest wall at 100
lbs. That is enough to rip the
aorta from the heart or snap the
brain stem from the spinal cord.
Now increase the speed in
increments of 10 mph and you
tell me why we are dying in
crashes.
"12. Vehicle crash facts; Most
vehicles sold in the U.S.A. are
crash tested up to 50 mph. So
for every 10 mph over the known
50 mph test, the chances of
being severely injured or killed
not only double, they are
compounded. 60 is 2 to 1, 70 is
4 to 1, 80 is 8 to 1 and 90 is
16 to 1. In every crash there is
a 40 percent chance that a door
can be jarred open. If not
wearing a safety belt, your
chance of being ejected is 75
percent and being killed after
ejection is 95 percent. From
impact to death, most often
occurs in 7/10ths of a second.
not much time to say AH, much
less any other word you would
have put behind AH.
"You think I have a passion for
driver education and training?
It just baffles me that we just
assume everyone knows how to
handle the single most deadly
weapon that we take for granted
and are in control of more than
anything else.
Not just law enforcement, but
everyone needs to understand
that you should drive like every
life depends on you, just
because it does."
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