WESTLAND, Mich. – Newlywed father of 3-month-old twins Luke Vinsko lost his leg after being pinned between two cars after his neighbor reportedly crashed her vehicle on purpose.
“I saw a red car coming at us, and I watched as it hit him and pinned him between her car and his,” recalled Haley Vinskos.
Despite neighbors calling the police 45 minutes earlier due to the neighbor’s erratic behavior, police did not respond in time. Now, the Vinskos are filing a $50 million lawsuit, and neighbors want to know why the police response was delayed.
The family is speaking out about the charges against his neighbor, the road to recovery, and whether the incident could have been avoided if police had responded faster.
It was the first date night out after their twins were born. It ended with Luke pinned under his car.
“There’s just blood everywhere. So I climbed over the garage door and got to him and called the police and just kept talking to him to make sure he stayed awake right, and try to keep him calm as much as I could, and waited for the police and the ambulances to get here,” Haley said.
Police arrived quickly after that call, but the Vinskos want to know why they didn’t respond when neighbors started calling 45 minutes earlier. If they had responded faster, would Luke still have his leg?
“It took me a long time to get my head all together,” Luke said. “And now that it is, I realize that being mad or being frustrated has never done me any good in my past, and it’s not going to do me any good now. So why?”
It happened on Aug. 10, just after 7 p.m., near the intersection of Wildwood Street and Florence Avenue in Westland. Police said 43-year-old April Marie Graves deliberately crashed her vehicle into multiple parked cars in her neighborhood. Luke was in the driveway of his home when he was run over.
Before that happened, neighbors had called police on Graves 45 minutes earlier and police didn’t respond.
In a statement, the Westland Police Department said multiple units were busy with a traffic stop, that it “acknowledges and understands the public concern regarding a delayed response,” and that it is “conducting an ongoing internal investigation into this matter.”
You can read the full statement from the Westland Police Department below.
The Westland Police Department has received, and continues to investigate concerns related to a delayed response the August 10th, 2024 incident where April Graves was arrested for intentionally ramming her vehicle into multiple other vehicles and a man causing severe injury. Since receiving these concerns the department has self-initiated an investigation into this matter. This investigation is not yet complete but in the interest of transparency the Westland Police Department has opted to disclose the following information.
Police received word from a concerned citizen that she and others had called the police on April Graves much earlier in the day, at approximately 4:00 p.m. Upon investigating these claims it was discovered that police had been dispatched to a welfare check on a woman in the area of Wildwood and Marquette, a very short distance from the incident involving Graves. The physical description of this woman very closely matched the description of the Graves, however, it was discovered through body worn camera footage that this was not the same person. Additionally, the other woman in question was under arrest and in custody at the Westland Police Department before any calls were received regarding the Graves incident.
The initial notification to officers regarding the April Graves incident was received at approximately 6:30 p.m. Westland Officers were advised of a welfare check run that was holding regarding a female friend in the driveway acting erratic and uncooperative. It added that the woman was not combative but may be a “possible mental”.
At the time that this call was received multiple units were already on a traffic stop that initially appeared as though it was going to turn into a vehicular pursuit when an officer observed a vehicle traveling at 90 mph in a 40 mph zone. This stop took some time to conduct as the vehicle needed to be impounded, and arrangements needed to be made to notify the parents of the involved juveniles and also to transport them to the Westland Police Department to be picked up.
There were additional calls received by Dearborn Central Dispatch regarding April Graves that were placed after this time which did increase the response priority level, causing police to be dispatched at 7:16 p.m. After cars had been dispatched officers were updated that Graves had run her vehicle into a garage and a person. This additional information prompted the response of every available unit to the location.
The Westland Police Department acknowledges and understands the public concern regarding a delayed response in relation to an incident that ended in a great deal of property damage and worse, the severe injury of an individual. Due to this, the Westland Police Department has been conducting an ongoing internal investigation into this matter to assure that response to this run was prioritized and responded to in a manner adhering to department policy and procedures.
City of Westland
Mike Morse is representing the family.
“The reports we’re getting back are that they were telling these people they were either too busy, they didn’t have enough manpower, and they never came until the accident,” Morse said. “The fact that they have these twin babies, they were enjoying their first night out. This is a heartbreaking story, and it moved me.”
Due to Luke’s injuries, he needed to have part of his leg amputated. And the father of two 3-month-old boys is now trying to figure out how to manage it all.
“My wife is phenomenal. She’s been doing everything under the moon,” Luke said. “Everything from scheduling my appointments to sorting my meds to anything you could possibly imagine.”
But it’s still a struggle for the newlyweds and new parents.
“I do not like being outside anymore,” Haley said. “I hear cars accelerate, and I jump. I’m very nervous to be outside.”
The family wants to move, and Luke needs a place without stairs, but they said the crash won’t stop them from living their lives.
“I’m going to do everything I have been doing my entire life, but better,” Luke said. “It’s not going to stop me. It might slow me down, but it’s not going to stop me.”
Luke will have a lifetime of treatment and rehabilitation, which is why the family filed a $50 million lawsuit against Graves’ insurance company.
You can read the full lawsuit below.
Graves was charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, one count of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily impairment, one count of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of malicious destruction of property over $1,000, two counts of malicious destruction of personal property over $1,000, and one count of open alcohol in a motor vehicle.
