A Wayne County mother whose son was killed in a violent 2023 motorcycle collision has filed a lawsuit, alleging that parts of her son’s body were left at the crash site.
In a complaint filed last week in Detroit’s federal court, Jessica Ostrowski said that large pieces of 19-year-old Ethan Bennett’s brain and scalp were located on the pavement and in a trash container after authorities reopened the site to the public.
“Plainly, the scene was released even though Ethan’s bodily remains were not properly removed with the respect due under the circumstances,” the 14-page complaint states.
Bennett was riding his motorcycle westbound on Michigan Avenue in Inkster when he side-swiped an SUV as it pulled into the middle lane from a Sunoco gas station near Isabella Avenue.
When police arrived at the scene, Bennett’s brain had been “fully removed from his skull,” according to court documents.
A medical examiner’s postmortem report indicated there was no brain matter left in Bennett’s body during his autopsy, but that about 500 grams of his brain tissue arrived separately, Ostrowski alleges. However, the average adult male brain measures about 1,400 grams.
Ostrowski alleges that the rest of her son’s brain and parts of his scalp were either purposefully or negligently left at the crash site, including some that was “found in a common garbage bin,” after law enforcement reopened the scene.
She alleges that a firefighter and police officer, who are unknown and unnamed in the lawsuit, effectively mutilated Bennett’s body by conducting a “wash down” at the scene and reopening it to the public without verifying that his remains had been properly handled.
Also listed as defendants are Wayne County Chief Medical Examiner LokMan Sung; Brittnie Pimenata, an investigator with the medical examiner’s office; Inkster Police Chief Tamika Jenkins; and Inkster Fire Chief Jason Kaye.
Authorities respond to allegations
Inkster City Attorney Todd Perkins called Bennett’s death tragic and said the city’s thoughts and prayers remain with his family.
“With that understanding, calling to end these employees’ careers gets ahead of the facts,” Perkins said in an email to The Detroit News. “The City has conducted a complete and thorough investigation, and we’re confident the Inkster Police and Fire Departments handled the scene appropriately and professionally.
“It is our understanding that this matter has been reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, and that office has charged no one with any wrongdoing,” Perkins added. “We await an opportunity to defend against these allegations in court.”
Wayne County Executive Matt Allen declined to comment on the case, noting that county officials had not yet been served with the complaint.
In her complaint, Ostrowski alleges that the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office has shown a pattern of failing to properly train or supervise its employees in the past. She points to a 2022 investigation by the Office of the Auditor General that detailed widespread operational failures within the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Ostrowski says what happened to her son is “evidence that WCMEO has not resolved it deficient practices.”
“… Reasonable training and supervision would have prevented significant portions of Ethan’s bodily remains from being separated and left behind in a parking lot and public garbage can,” the complaint states.
Based on Michigan common law, a person’s next of kin has the right to handle their loved one’s remains, arrange burial and prevent the body from being mishandled or altered, Ostrowski says in her complaint, and families can sue if remains are improperly withheld or mutilated.
Ostrowski previously sued Inkster police as she fought for the complete, unredacted investigative report and other records related to the crash that killed her son.
Jenkins, the Inkster police chief, previously said that her agency ultimately turned all 90-plus pieces of evidence related to the case over to Ostrowski.
Though video evidence from the wearable camera Bennett was using during the crash showed that he had been performing wheelies during his ride, both of the wheels on his 2004 Yamaha were on the ground at the time of the fatal collision.
Authorities determined Bennett was at fault in the incident, though his mother has disputed this finding, claiming that the SUV driver violated her son’s right-of-way and investigators relied on flawed or incomplete evidence.
In her latest court filing, Ostrowski alleges that improper handling of her son’s remains caused her damages including severe emotional distress and mental anguish.
She is seeking an unspecified dollar amount to compensate for her losses, including loss of enjoyment of life, according to the complaint.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Mom alleges parts of her son were left at site of fatal motorcycle crash
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
