NewsPalm Beach CountyRegion C Palm Beach CountyRoyal Palm Beach

Actions

ONLY ON 5: Days before trial, family of man hit by PBSO deputy reacts to crash video

Posted at 11:34 PM, Aug 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-26 00:00:20-04

Twice.

That's how many times Gina Desrouleaux has watched the video of the crash. 

“It was very difficult to watch. I saw the officer driving very fast, passing several cars,” she says.

She can’t bear to watch it again.

“Then, hit my brother. It looked like the car shattered.”

Her brother Harry Deshommes now sits at an assisted living facility.

“He's walking with a cane,” Desrouleaux says. “In a way, I'm happy he doesn't remember everything so he forgets the pain.”

Meanwhile, the trial for the man who hit Harry, PBSO deputy Brandon Hegele, starts Monday.

According to the recently released investigative report, deputies were on the lookout for a fleeing suspect back in May of 2016.

Hegele and others were told not to pursue.

Instead, the investigative report shows Deputy Hegele drove more than 100-miles-per-hour to get to where the suspect vehicle was last seen.

Eyewitnesses said Deputy Hegele had no lights or sirens on when he crashed into Deshommes.

“He disregarded his instructions,” Desrouleaux says. “It was just very careless. Unnecessary. He caused a lot of harm. My brother will never be the same."

Just days before the trial, Gina says she's not hoping for any particular sentence for Hegele.

Justice for her would be fairness.

“He needs to be punished, just like anyone else would’ve been punished for doing this.”