CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Canton mother has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Wayne County, the City of Inkster and several officials, alleging authorities failed to properly collect and preserve her son’s bodily remains after a deadly motorcycle crash.
She says they left pieces of her son in a parking lot and threw them in the trash.
Jessica Ostrowski, 48, said she was “mortified” and “heartbroken” as she learned what she believes happened after her 19-year-old son, Ethan Bennett, was killed July 28, 2023, near Michigan Avenue and Harrison Street in Inkster.
“It was awful, and it’s still awful,” Ostrowski told Local 4. “I was just mortified… How did he not matter?”
‘There’s still no closure’
In the complaint filed July 23, 2026, Ostrowski alleges that “large pieces of Ethan’s brain and scalp” were not only left behind on the pavement but were also found in “a common garbage bin” after the crash scene was released to the public.
Ostrowski told the Investigators on Local 4 that, even worse, the remains were found after they had already held a funeral and cremation for Bennett.
“No mother, or anybody should ever have to go to a crash scene and witness that,” she said. “They found parts of head, hair, and brain matter in the trash and throughout the parking lot… And there’s still no closure.”
She said what was found was not something minor.
“One of Ethan’s best friends went in the middle of the night after the crash… he had found a large piece of Ethan’s head,” she said.
Ostrowski also said other pieces of Bennett’s remains were discovered in a blue bin and by cement blocks and put into baggies.
“This wasn’t missed. I mean, this was my son’s hair. You know, part of his skull,” she said. “In the trash… No family should ever have to go through this.”
What the lawsuit says happened at the scene
The complaint says Bennett “suffered a catastrophic head injury during the wreck.” It cites an Inkster Police Investigator’s Report that described arriving at the scene to find Bennett with his brain “fully removed from his skull” with “skull fractures” and hair from the deceased “scattered around the parking lot and the cement parking blocks.”
The lawsuit also cites a report from the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office saying it arrived on scene to take “possession of the body and all body parts that had been separated.” It then alleges that Inkster Fire Department personnel arrived to “wash down” the scene.
The lawsuit also says Michigan State Police Sgt. Brandon Buzanowski “observed suspected human bio on the parking lot,” but later, the medical examiner’s report allegedly stated that “Internally, no brain matter was present.” It also says the postmortem report said it “received separate from the body” a portion of scalp “with multiple attached fragments of fractured calvarium and 500 gm of pulpified brain tissue.”
The lawsuit alleges that the “average weight of an adult male’s brain is 1400 grams,” and alleges that, after the scene was released, significant remains were still at the scene and “in a trash can.”
When asked what the best outcome could be for her, Ostrowski said: “Accountability.”
“I don’t think [they] should ever work in public service ever again,” she said. “I’m not going to stop fighting until they are all held accountable, because no family should have to deal with this.”
The defendants’ responses
The Investigators on Local 4 reached out to each defendant named in the lawsuit individually.
Todd Perkins, attorney for the City of Inkster, responded saying: “The circumstances surrounding Mr. Bennett’s death in 2023 were tragic. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family. With that understanding, calling to end these employees’ careers gets ahead of the facts. The City has conducted a complete and thorough investigation, and we’re confident the Inkster Police and Fire Departments handled the scene appropriately and professionally. Upon information and belief, this matter has been reviewed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, and that office has charged no one with any wrongdoing. We await an opportunity to defend against these allegations in court.”