Families hold vigil for victims on anniversary of fatal crash

WARREN — On the one-year anniversary of their deaths, family members of Cedric Hayden Jr. and DeJuan Pettis gathered at the corner of Schoenherr Road and Prospect Avenue in Warren, holding red and blue balloons and praying.

“We’re Detroit fans, we always loved the blue. My son loved the color red. We did a mixture of that together,” said Cedric Hayden Sr., Cedric Hayden Jr.’s father.

Former Warren police officer James Burke was driving a police SUV, allegedly without emergency lights and sirens at speeds of more than 110 mph, on Schoenherr in Warren at around 5 a.m. Sept. 30, 2024, when he hit a white Dodge Durango that was attempting to turn left onto Prospect. The Durango’s driver, Hayden Jr., 34, and its passenger, Pettis, 33, were both killed. Burke and the officer he was with sustained serious injuries.

Cedric Hayden Sr. said the last time he saw his son, he was sitting on the front porch talking to Pettis about an upcoming Lions game. Standing at the corner where the crash occurred, he said he can still see it in his mind.

“I visualize the whole thing, from the time I got the phone call until the time I (saw) them laying out there,” he said. “I see it every day, all day long. It hurts. It hurts very bad.”

Charisse Brown, Pettis’ mother, was comforted by friends and family as she was overcome with grief, saying she needs justice for her son.

“I need my son,” she said. “I love my son. I miss my son. It’s been a year today that I have not seen my son. It hurts to lose your loved one this way.”

James Harrington, an attorney with Fieger Law who is representing the families in a lawsuit they filed against the city, said the turnout shows how much the men were loved.

“They were children. They were fathers. They were brothers,” Harrington said. “They were friends, they were cousins, and they are missed so incredibly much, and it’s brought this family even closer together.”

Burke is facing two counts of manslaughter with a motor vehicle, a 15-year felony; one count of committing a moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function, a 93-day misdemeanor; and willful neglect of duty by a public officer, a one-year misdemeanor. He was bound over for trial at the conclusion of his preliminary exam hearing Aug. 15 and is scheduled to appear in Macomb County Circuit Court for a pretrial conference later this month.

Cedric Hayden Sr. said the amount of people at the vigil reminded him that his son was well-loved.

“My son was well-loved,” he said. “He was well-loved by a lot of friends, family everywhere.”