Man says Grosse Pointe Park police totaled his car in crash and he's left with thousands in repairs

FOX 2 - A Fraser man says he was hit by a Grosse Pointe Park police vehicle and has been left holding the bag for thousands of dollars in repairs.

Jerome Smith says he's been left with more than $8,000 in repair costs on his badly damaged car. The problem was a bush that Smith says he couldn't see beyond. As he edged out, the next thing he heard was a large boom.

His car was totaled. 

"There was no screeching, no breaking, it was a full impact," said Endia Huffman. "The people, they were very empathetic about what had happened. They asked if we needed help if anybody was hurt. They did a good job with that. But the follow-up was poor."

Smith was with his daughter Endia on Sunday, August 23, when he was about to cross Kercheval on 3 Mile Drive. When he pulled out, a Grosse Pointe Park police vehicle hit him driving on Kercheval. It was heading to a hit and run accident. 

Smith says he couldn't see the lights and didn't hear sirens. 

"If he would have just had a siren on, that was the only place I could not see, I would have known he was coming from that direction,' Smith said. "You actually have to see how big that bush is, to really get a sense of what I saw, and what he saw. Because we came from his direction and I could see where my car was sitting before I pulled out, he couldn't see my car."

The diagram from the police report pretty much mirrors what Smith says happened. The report even says he was "obstructed by bushes to the west."

Police maintain they had lights on and were "toggling" the siren. They even picked up Smith's tow bill from the accident scene and then turned everything over to their insurance company which they say is all they can do, since Michigan is a no-fault state.

Police also tell FOX 2 they haven't had any complaints from Smith about what happened. The problem for Smith, he has no collision insurance anymore so the cost to repair the vehicle is on him. He is asking the city to pick up the tab.

"We took collision off the car because it's a 2006 and it's 14 years old," he said.

FOX 2 has submitted a freedom of information request for the dashcam video still waiting to hear back from the police.