FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Fort Myers Police Department wants to purchase 2D and 3D traffic mapping equipment to reconstruct fatal crashes. The department hopes the new technology will help them crack down on drivers who break the law.
Police told Fox 4 there have been 19 fatal crashes from the start of 2024 through July 15, 2024. In 2023, there were 18.
Fort Myers Police Traffic Homicide Investigator Kyle Martins demonstrated how he manually collects details about car crashes.
Police used a tape measure to access the car's black box, which stores the data.
“The old way of doing things was to take two-dimensional coordinates, x and y, and then plot them later on a two-dimensional map. It doesn't show an image,” Martins said.
He said it's not possible to collect graphics that can animate collisions and vehicle movement in real time.
But now the department is planning to go high-tech.
If approved by the City Council, the Fort Myers Police Department will purchase a 2D/3D scanner and software from a company called Faro.
“When we actually scan the car, it gives us information like how crushed the car was, what damage there is on the side or on top of the car,” Martins says.
Martins said the department only needs one scanner.
“It plots the actual vehicle behavior that it observes and animates it in real time,” Martin says.
Funding for this more than $70,000 investment will come in part from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants Program.
Martin said the standard method of using all that equipment to capture data will remain, but the new method will allow roads to be opened more quickly.
“That way we can create models of these things and use them to help with prosecutions,” Martin said.
It's unclear when the new technology will be used, but Martin said it will be soon.
