Relatives of two men who died in a September car crash with Warren police gasped, shrieked and sobbed when shown video of the collision.

Some held their hands over their faces in horror; one lady left the room, overwhelmed by emotion.

Their attorneys on Monday showed them “never-before-seen” footage of the crash during a news conference at the Southfield offices of Fieger Law.

They watched the videos hours before former Warren police officer James Burke, who allegedly caused the crash, was to appear in a city district court for a hearing in the criminal case against him.

“The purpose of everyone being here today was so that we have the opportunity to give to the press never-before-seen by anyone in the public video of the circumstances surrounding the horrific crash on Sept. 30, 2024, that claimed the lives of Cedric Hayden Jr. and Dejuan Pettis at the hands of former officer Burke,” James Harrington, managing partner of Fieger Law, the firm representing the families of the two men, said before showing the videos.

Three videos were shown: dash camera footage of the police car in the crash, video from a nearby gas station’s camera and video taken by a security camera at a landscaping business close to the scene of the collision.

Burke’s lawyer, Marc Curtis, said Monday that he had not seen the videos.

Harrington explained the firm obtained the videos during the discovery process in the families’ lawsuit against the city and its police department. He called the footage “the most important evidence in the case,” and it shows the police cruiser was traveling about 117 mph when it crashed into the Dodge Durango carrying Hayden and Pettis.

He also said the city filed a motion with the court to prevent him and the firm from releasing the videos and other evidence in the case. The judge ruled the firm could show the videos, but not other evidence, Harrington said.

“There is other evidence,” the attorney said. “We’ve been able to discover a mountain of evidence that supports our claims. We’d love to be able to give it to you, but we’re only allowed to give you a portion of it.”

Cedric Hayden Sr. tried to speak after seeing the videos, but he was too wracked with grief to find the words. Family members patted his arm to comfort him and show support.

“I can’t do it,” he said after managing to utter: “I just want justice for these boys.”

DeJuan Pettis’ mother, Shakira, said the family relives the tragedy every day and wants it to end.

“His boys are hurting. He has an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, and they’re crying themselves to sleep every night,” she said, putting her hands over her face as she stepped away from the podium.

Hayden Jr., and Pettis, his passenger, died on Sept. 30, 2024, after Warren police officer Burke crashed into their SUV as they waited to turn left on Prospect Street just north of Eight Mile.

Hayden and Pettis were close friends; both were autoworkers, according to family members. Hayden worked for Chrysler, and Pettis worked at General Motors, they said.

Both officers involved had been with the department for at least five years, police said.

In October, attorneys for the Hayden and Pettis families said they were suing the city of Warren and the two police officers involved in the crash for $100 million. The lawsuit alleges negligence, gross negligence, along with willful and wanton misconduct by the two officers. It also accuses the officers and the city of negligent operation of a government-owned vehicle, and accuses the city of ownership liability.

The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and presented a warrant request to prosecutors. In November, Burke was charged with two counts of manslaughter with a motor vehicle, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and a count of a moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function and a count of willful neglect of duty, both misdemeanors.

After the charges were announced, the Hayden and Pettis families said they wanted tougher charges against Burke.

During a hearing in Burke’s case last month, investigators said Hayden’s blood-alcohol content was .198%, more than two times over Michigan’s legal limit of blood-alcohol content of 0.08%. The judge said he would consider a request from prosecutors to quash testimony about Hayden’s blood-alcohol content.

Earlier this month, a Macomb County judge ruled the Hayden and Pettis families could add Warren police officer Michael Rodolfo, who was Burke’s passenger during the crash, to their lawsuit, saying he could have been part of the crash’s cause.