911 calls released in ex-Titusville Police Chief crash: 'I don't know what happened'
911 calls detail aftermath of crash involving former Titusville police chief
Newly released 911 recordings provide new details about the rollover crash involving former Titusville Police Chief John Lau, who was fired after the single-vehicle wreck but has not been charged with a crime or cited for a traffic violation.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Moments after former Titusville Police Chief John Lau rolled his unmarked city-owned vehicle in Brevard County last month, a couple of people called 911 to report the crash.
Those 911 calls shed light on the immediate aftermath of the crash. It comes as questions and concerns continue to be raised after FHP closed its investigation without launching a DUI investigation or issuing any type of citation, despite a closed bottle of vodka and a cup that reportedly smelled like alcohol being found in the vehicle.
911 call: ‘We can hear a male with difficulty breathing in the vehicle’
What they're saying:
The 911 calls detail the chaotic moments immediately following the crash as neighbors rushed out of their homes to find the chief's unmarked vehicle flipped on its side.
- Dispatch: "911, what is the location of your emergency?
- Dispatch: "What exactly is going on there?
- Caller: "I just had a car that just crashed across the street from me and they might need an ambulance. I’m heading over to check it out,"
- Caller: "The car is on its side."
- Caller: "We can hear a male with difficulty breathing in the vehicle.
- Caller: "His name is John and he just keeps saying, 'I don’t know what happened.'"
Titusville Police: Vodka bottle, metal cup found inside chief's vehicle after crash
The backstory:
The crash happened around 11:30 p.m. on Barna Avenue and River Oaks Road in Titusville, according to FHP.
FHP said the chief's 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe crashed and rolled several times, before landing on its passenger side on the side of the road.
While Titusville Police Department officers and Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies were the first to arrive on the scene, officers quickly realized the driver was their own chief and began documenting the scene.
Inside the wreckage, officers allegedly discovered a bottle of Ketel One vodka that was roughly a quarter empty, alongside a metal cup that smelled strongly of alcohol, officers noted in their reports.
It took more than a hour for a FHP trooper to arrive to the crash site
Titusville Police said because the crash involved the then-Titusville Police Chief, they deferred the crash investigation to FHP.
It took more than an hour for the FHP trooper to arrive at the crash site to begin an investigation, FHP said. By that time, the chief had already been loaded into an ambulance and transported to a nearby hospital.
Because the trooper did not witness any alleged impairment firsthand – and did not observe any impairment at the hospital – FHP said it lacked probable cause needed to open a formal DUI investigation or to legally request blood or breath tests.
FHP told FOX 35 that having alcohol in a vehicle is not enough to launch a potential DUI case.
Chief fired for refusing drug/alcohol test, violating city policy
The City of Titusville fired Chief Lau on Wednesday, hours after the crash, because he refused to take an alcohol or drug test, a violation of his employment agreement with the city, the city said in a statement.
Experts: Chief should get a ticket
The other side:
While FHP has closed its criminal investigation without filing charges against Lau, legal experts told FOX 35 that civil citations should be issued.
"Open container is the one that would come to mind that they could have given him because the seal was broken on the bottle," said criminal defense attorney Geoff Golub, who is not affiliated with the case or investigation.
FHP said a trooper has 10 days to file a civil citation after the crash. No citations have been issued.
Proving any other traffic violations, such as careless driving, will be an uphill battle for state troopers because of how the investigation unfolded.
"Even the careless driving is hard because you don't have a witness to say, 'I saw him doing this,'" Golub said.
Waiting on the FHP crash report
What's next:
FHP told FOX 35 that the vodka bottle was noted in the trooper's crash report.
The crash report was not available immediately. FHP said it should be available roughly 10 days after the report was taken. FOX 35 has submitted a public records request for that report.
The Source: The information is from Titusville Police and Florida Highway Patrol.