PETERSBURG, Va. -- Family members are angry and grieving over the loss of 30-year-old Michael Jones, who wasn’t discovered until days after a car accident on Interstate 95.
Some family members believe there might have been a chance to save him if the driver of the Suburban he was riding in had just spoken up.
Police said Jones’ on and off again girlfriend Chiquita Pettaway was driving a Chevy Suburban when she crashed around 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
"She was actually ejected from the vehicle but did not sustain life threatening injuries,” said Capt. Brian Braswell, Petersburg Police.
While on scene at the accident, police said Pettaway was asked several times if anyone else was in the SUV.
"It was asked at least three times by both police and fire if there were any other occupants in the vehicle and she stated no,” Brasswell said.
Family members reported Jones missing the next evening, and police again asked Pettaway if she had been alone and she said yes.
Late Wednesday evening police recanvassed the area near the accident site and found Jones' body.
"It was a good distance from the site, I'd say anywhere from 30-40 yards away and there was a line of bushes that actually concealed where he was,” Brasswell said.
"He could have still been here, if she had opened up her mouth,” said Jones’ aunt, Sonya Brown. “It was just cold hearted for her to pretend like she was there by herself."
"It was very cold hearted and vicious what she did, kept it to herself,” Brown said. “She shouldn't have kept the information to herself, because he could have been still alive, if she had a told them that he was in the vehicle with her, my nephew could still be alive right to this day.”
Police initially charged Pettway with DUI and refusing a breath test. Family said she is wanted for involuntary manslaughter.
"He was a friendly, outgoing person,” Brown said of her deceased nephew. “He was very loved by everyone."
Pettaway turned herself in Thursday night.
