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Accident Investigation,, Traffic Detail. Two elderly women are the victims of a hit and run , and it’s up to Joe Friday to find the driver.
Act home, Joe is greeted by his doting mother. She remembers times past when the elder Mr Friday was alive. Other youthful times sharing picnic baskets are shared as well. The soft memories are only disturbed by the call to report to work, and the investigation of the hit and run of the two elderly women.
On the scene, Joe is joined by partner, Ben Romero. They review clues, and interview witnesses. The car is identified as a Ford, with a young driver Joe offers voiceover to move details of the case along, but there isn’t much else to go on. A lab technician reports on the forensics, and backs up what the witnesses claim. When one of the ladies dies, the stakes have just been bumped up from a felony to manslaughter.
The voiceover continues as reports are typed up and filed, and bulletins are prepared to print. Weeks pass, leads checked out, repair shops are checked, all with no luck. Finally, a break comes in when a teenager pulls his car into a shop, needing body work matching the kind of damage matching the bulletins. What makes the garage owner feel the kid will come back to have the work done?
Checks are run on the kid, and a record is on file. Is there a chance that Joe will find him before he returns to the garage? Though he has moved, he still might be tracked through the DMV. In voiceover, Joe gives the mundane details of finding the residence.
A confrontation with the kid turns up holes in his story. Why did he do it? Why did he flee the scene? Somehow just saying you’re sorry isn’t going to be enough.
