It's a tough shift for Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Herb Ellis) as they work the Accident Detail on the eve of the July 4th weekend. Out of dozens of traffic accidents, the two detectives focus on three "standouts". The first involves a bunch of teenagers (ages 12 through 16), all of whom are seriously injured or worse after plowing into a car driven by an elderly couple--no thanks to the irresponsible father of the boy who'd been driving. The second case concerns an elderly drunk (played by Cliff Arquette of "Charley Weaver" fame) who has a habit of faking injuries so he can hitch an ambulance ride. Finally, motorcycle officer Mike O'Brien is stuck and killed while chasing a drunk driver--and it falls to Mike's old friend Friday to break the news to the dead officer's fiancee (Virginia Gregg). This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of July 3, 1952.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
