Journal of Criminal Law and CriminologyVolume 50Issue 1 May-June Article 15

Summer 1959

Physical Evidence in Hit-and-Run Traffic DeathsJohn F. Williams

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Recommended CitationJohn F. Williams, Physical Evidence in Hit-and-Run Traffic Deaths, 50 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 80 (1959-1960)

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IN HIT-AND-RUN TRAFFIC DEATHS

JOHN F. WILLIAMS

John F. Williams is the newly appointed director of the San Francisco Police Laboratory and wasformerly officer-in-charge of the Technical Laboratory of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He isa past-president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and has contributed several articlesto this Journal. His present paper is based upon material given at the Annual Southwestern HomicideInvestigator's Seminar.-EDITOR.

Physical evidence includes anything of a physicalnature (that which can be seen, felt, etc.) whichwill furnish information about a matter under in-vestigation. In most cases we think of physicalevidence as those things which we can transportbodily (or through photographs, casts, etc.) tothe court room and use to demonstrate to the jurythe facts in the case. In recent years this typeof evidence has been playing an ever increasing

role in the investigation and prosecution of criminalcases.

Hans Gross, the grandfather of modern scientificcriminal investigation, said "Circumstances cannotlie; witnesses can and do." Physical evidence can-not change its story or forget, neither can it beinfluenced by the opinion of others as the storyis told and retold.

Do not be misled, however, and believe the use

Figure 1

Paint chip identification: Specimen 1 from scene and specimen 2 from suspect's car. Matching fracture line andpolish marks from metal surface of fender establish identification.

HIT-AND-RUN TRAFFIC DEATHS

Figure 2

Broken parts of vehicle: Part of wheel disc clip from car (with hole) and part from scene of accident. Thematch is obvious.

of physical evidence will completely replace thework of the investigator. Information must begthered from witnesses, suspects and victims tocomplete the investigation. Physical evidence maypky an important part in any investigation andmore often than not valuable information is ob-lined through careful examination of this type ofmaterial. Never overlook this important phase offoe investigation.In many hit-and-run cases there are no eye-

witnesses and the victim is past talking, so physicaltidence becomes all important, and the solutionf the crime depends on the recognition, protection,nlection, identification, and evaluation of this ma-rtinl, As in other types of criminal investigationswe seek to identify the criminal and place him onte crime scene through something he takes fromle scene of the crime or something he leaves athe scene.

It would be impossible to mention here all thematerials which might be included under the head-ing of physical evidence, since practically anythingmight fall in this category at one time or another.We will talk about some of the things commonlyassociated with these cases but do not want toinfer that the listing is by any means complete.Methods of handling will also be mentioned sinceit is important that the evidence collected be ad-missable as evidence in court. Often the materialscollected will need little or no further examinationto establish their connection with the investigation.Large parts of fenders, accessories, pieces of gar-ments, etc., can sometimes be matched with thenaked eye, or with ordinary photographs, when itis not practical to take the entire car into court.At other times the minute pieces of paint, glass,hair, fibers, bloodstains, etc., must be subjected tomore precise examination, using the tools of mod-

JOHN F. WILLIAMS

Figure 3Parallel marks on shirt sleeve match the coil spring around the shock absorber on the suspect's car see Figure 4.

ern science, to establish their similarity or in some RECOGNITIONcases their dissimilarity (figures 1 and 2). First the investigator must recognize those ma-

There are several steps in the systematic investi-gation involving physical evidence; all of which terials which may be of importance as evidence.should be followed and short cuts avoided. Systematic search is necessary for this step, not

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Figure 4

The coil spring around the shock absorber which made marks upon the victims shirt as shown in Figure 3.

only of the scene at the point of impact but alsoi the areas leading to and away from the point ofimpact. Tracks leading to and from the scene indi-cate direction of travel, speed, and attempts tostop or avoid collision. Broken parts or materialfrom the person or object struck may be scattered

ong this path. Other objects may have beenstuck and parts of them carried off on the suspectvehicle. Even fingerprints may be of value. InSt. Louis a hit-and-run driver stopped momentarilyto survey the damage before leaving the scene. Heleaned against a parked car and was observed by awitness in an upstairs window nearby. When thisinformation was given to the investigating officerthe latent prints were developed and lifted. Whenthe suspect was located these prints placed himat the scene beyond any doubt. You do not oftenhave a case like this but nothing should be over-looked. Much of the material at the point of impactiobvious as potential evidence. The broken head-light glass, windshield, bumper guards, parking

lights, mirrors, spotlights, and so on are automati-cally collected. An important omission, however, isto neglect to collect all available material. Often aseemingly insignificant bit of material may be thematching piece to complete the jig-saw puzzle.Other material should not be ignored, however, andanything which is not naturally a part of the sceneshould be noted and collected. Objects foreign tothe scene may have come from the suspect's car.The dirt that falls from the car at the time of theimpact may give a clue as to the areas where thecar has been operating. In the case of trucks, someof the cargo may have spilled. Be alert and sus-picious of anything unnatural.

PRESERVATION

Before anything is moved (except the body ifthere is any chance of saving a life) photographsshould be taken. Several photographs from dif-ferent angles and directions are necessary alongwith notes, measurements, and sketches to orient

JOHN F. WILLIAMS

the photographs properly and indicate dimensions.When indicated, rulers, scales, or objects of knowndimensions should be included in the photographso that the actual size of the objects involved maybe scaled from the photograph. Bystanders andpolice officers do not belong in evidence photo-graphs since they were not present when the crimewas committed. If objects in the scene do not showup well enough without someone pointing themout, they are not of much value. Take your public-ity photographs separately, and you will not haveto worry about your photographs being inadmis-sible in court. This is the first step in preservingthe evidence and is quite important. It is impos-sible to replace objects, including bodies, in theexact position from which they have been moved.It should go without saying that the curious publicand bystanders (well intentioned as they may be)must not be permitted to track through the scenebefore the evidence is collected. This also appliesto curious police officers who are not actually work-ing on the investigation.

COLLECTION AND MARKING FOR IDENTIFICATION

Now the evidence must be collected, identifiedby the officer(s) collecting it, and prepared fortransportation to the laboratory, headquarters, theprosecutor's office, or court room. All evidencemust be collected as soon after it is discovered aspossible since if there is any time during which theevidence is not in the possession of someone whowho can be in court to testify, the court may ex-dude it. One case in Missouri brings out this point.The Troopers investigated a fatal hit-and-run onenight and some broken headlight glass was col-lected. For several days thereafter, whenever thetrooper passed the scene of the accident he pickedup a few more pieces of glass. Several days laterthe suspect's car was located, with the brokenheadlamp still in the socket. When the case got tocourt there was considerable discussion about thefact that the glass had been collected over a periodof several days. Fortunately, the specimens wereforwarded in separate containers and marked as tothe time that they were collected, and the matchingpieces were collected on the first night. Had theybeen picked up on any of the succeeding days thecourt would not have admitted the testimonyabout the matching glass. Pick up everything youcan as early as you can. It can always be disposedof if not needed but seldom can you go back laterand collect more.

PACKAGING

Proper packaging is as important as collecting.If improperly packed, specimens may become lostby sifting out of a leaky container. This is particu-larly true of dust, small paint chips, small hairs offibers, and similar material when put into enve-lopes. Ordinary envelopes are not sealed at thecorners, and small objects should be wrapped inpaper folds before placing in an envelope. (Use adruggist fold). Round pill boxes with pushon topsare the best. Handle your specimens with deanhands so you will not add something to the speci-men that did not come from the scene. Do notchange the specimen any more than absolutelynecessary, and if it is changed, make a note of thechanges to accompany the specimen. Proper con-tainers are a great help in properly packaging evi-dence. Pill boxes are handy for fine small materialsuch as paint chips, small pieces of glass, paint,soil, etc. Paper sacks or plastic freezer bags arehandy for larger objects and may be used forseveral smaller containers after they are properlylabeled. Always put material from different partsof the scene or from different cars or bodies inseparate containers. Unknown or questioned speci-mens should always be packaged separately fromknown materials. Even the various garments froma body, for instance, should be wrapped separately.Tags, labels, marking crayons will help in markingthe various containers. When possible specimensshould be marked on the object itself, but very finematerial must be marked on the container.

TRANSPORTATION; STORAGE

Evidence in hit-and-run cases is subject to thesame rules of handling as is evidence in other typesof cases. Care should be taken to prevent damageor changes in the specimens; to prevent mixing orintermingling of specimens and to keep a record ofall persons who have had the evidence in theirpossession. When not in the possession of a partic-ular person specimens should be kept in suitablelocked storerooms used only for the storage ofevidence.

The examination of the body has been coveredby other writers, but physical evidence may befound there also.' When the investigating officercan be present at the examination of the body he

I See especially H. L. Beddoe's article on the "Hit-Run Murders: Examination of the Body" this Journal,Vol. 49, Number 3, pp. 280-4, September-October1958.

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may gain information valuable in his search forthe car involved, and he can supply the medicalman with information he has collected in his ex-amination of the scene. He can also get some ideaabout what to look for on the suspect's car. A re-cent case in Missouri showed some peculiar markson clothing of one of the persons struck by a hit-and-run driver. Several parallel black greasy markswere found on one sleeve of a shirt worn by theman who was killed (figures 3 and 4). When lo-cated, a week later, the suspect's car revealed acoil spring wound around a rear shock absorberwhich exactly matched the marks on the shirt.Further examination disclosed human hair, tissue,and cotton fibers on the underside of the car. Thisevidence along with witnesses who had seen thecar in the vicinity on the night of the accidenthelped in obtaining a conviction in this case.

When the suspect's car is located, review thefacts obtained from the investigation of the sceneand the body as you approach the car. If you knowthe approximate speed of the vehicle, it will helpin judging whether the body was thrown over thethe car or dragged under it. Imprints of clothingor objects worn by the victim may be found onthe car in the traffic film or in the grease and dirton the running gear. In one Ohio case the cuff ofa shirt left a perfect impression complete with theweave of the fabric and a four hole button whichwas oriented in the same position as on the sleeve.Use a lift and a good strong light to examine the

undercarriage. Of course the hair you find may befrom a rabbit, as the driver says, and the bloodfrom a dog. The laboratory will let you know aboutthat, and it may be human and of the same bloodgroup as that of the victim. If the victim woreglasses, some of the broken lenses may be found onthe suspect's car. Look for anything unusual, any-thing which does not belong where it is found andmay be identified with the victim, the scene, orthe suspect's car.

We have mentioned some of the materials whichhave been useful in identifying hit-and-run cars.You may have seen similar cases and probablyothers which we have not mentioned. If you willremember to consider everything found at thescene, on the victim, or on the suspect's car aspotential physical evidence subject to identifica-tion or comparison with other material found dur-ing the investigation, we will have accomplishedour mission with this paper. And do not forget tohandle it as evidence so that it may be admissiblein court to substantiate other testimony.

REFERENCESThe texts listed below will furnish details on the

investigation and the handling of physical evidence.Tpac ACCImENT INVESTIGATORs MANUAL, The

Traffic Institute of Northwestern University,Evanston, Illinois.

TRAFFIC ACcTDENTS, CHARLES A. WnmxAxms, Charles CThomas, Publishers, Springfield, Illinois.

AN INRODucTION TO CnimNAmnsrcs, C. E. O'HARAmn 3. W. OsTERmunR, The MacMillan Company,New York, N. Y.

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