WFAA’s Film of the Motorcade Run to Parkland Hospital Stabilized

[Charles Collins]

I decided to make one more version of the animation using bitmap versus jpeg frames, along with removal of more blurry frames and application of sharpening. The effort paid off as this scene was not evident to me in the earlier versions.

The action NW of the Hines/Industrial intersection begins near mid frame and extends westward to the upper left of the frame. The early frames show one and maybe two cars moving NW on Harry Hines towards Parkland Memorial Hospital. Shortly, near mid frame, a police motorcycle will pass those cars as the cars come to a stop. As the first motorcycle leaves the frame a second motorcycle cop follows the same path, maybe 75 feet behind the first motorcycle. Near the end of the animation at the left side a third and then fourth motorcyclist enters, about 75 feet behind the second motorcycle. At the scale of the animation the motorcycles policemen appear little more than black dots. The animation will repeat after a three second delay.


I wonder if the Hines/Industrial intersection was yet under police control. Here are the police radio logs taken from JFK First Day Evidence (Gary Savage):
Police Radio Logs Excerpts

Channel I
p387-388
12:34:25   Disp   Report to Inwood and Stemmons and cut all traffic for the ambulance headed to
         Parkland. Code 3
12:34:32   (24)   Inwood and Stemmons?
12:34:35   Disp   Inwood and Stemmons, where they come off Stemmons, going to Parkland.
12:34:40   (24)   10-4
12:34:43   Disp   Make your assignment Code, 24
12:34:45   (24)   10-4
12:35:38   Ch2Disp   Attention all emergency equipment. Attention all emergency equipment. Do not
         use Industrial Boulevard..Do not use Industrial Boulevard. 12:36
12:36:36   (Disp)   ..Inwood and Stemmons and assist 24...21., go up there to Hines and cut that
         service road off there where that ambulance can go on to Parkland.

And on Channel II
p406-407
12:35      (15-2)   (The) Captain advises, have all emergency traffic use some route besides
         Industrial. Have 283 cut the traffic at Hines and Industrial.
12:35   Disp   10-4. 283 cut traffic, Hines and Industrial. 283, cut traffic Hines and Industrial.
(then using simultaneous broadcast)
12:36   Disp   Attention all emergency equipment...Attention all emergency equipment...Do not
         use Industrial Boulevard, 12:36
12:36      (220)    Where do you want traffic cut in that area [Parkland]?
      Disp   Keep all traffic out of the emergency entrance to Parkland Hospital, and all
         emergency equipment off of Industrial Boulevard.
      (125)   We have the emergency entrance secure at Parkland.
12:37   Disp   10-4, 125, 12:37

Wow James, excellent work as usual!  I think you have nailed it. It does appear that perhaps some traffic not associated with the motorcade had to pull over to the side and let the escort motorcycles (and I imagine the motorcade followed) go by. It might be true that the intersection wasn’t secured. Because after all, the original planned route didn’t include going to Parkland. Very exciting to see this with better clarity. Thanks!

[James Hackerott]

Wow James, excellent work as usual!  I think you have nailed it. It does appear that perhaps some traffic not associated with the motorcade had to pull over to the side and let the escort motorcycles (and I imagine the motorcade followed) go by. It might be true that the intersection wasn’t secured. Because after all, the original planned route didn’t include going to Parkland. Very exciting to see this with better clarity. Thanks!

Thanks Charles. When I finally found your bright spot moving west on Hines (I think), but east of the intersection, if I recall it seems to come to a stop also. I'll revisit that in a few days with the new animation.

[Charles Collins]

Thanks Charles. When I finally found your bright spot moving west on Hines (I think), but east of the intersection, if I recall it seems to come to a stop also. I'll revisit that in a few days with the new animation.

In the earlier clips, I think that I felt that I could see a car moving and stopping and also believed that I saw a motorcycle helmet moving in that same area. I had assumed (in my mind) that the moving car would have been the JFK limo at the front of the motorcade along with the motorcycles. The car appeared much darker to me in the earlier clips. And I wasn’t sure that it was a car because I couldn’t understand why the limo would be stopping. It just didn’t occur to me that it could have been traffic unassociated with the motorcade that had to pull over and stop. But, now that you brought that idea up, it makes very good sense to me. And the better clarity confirms it (to me at least). Well done and good thinking.   

[James Hackerott]

It could just be my imagination based on what I would expect to see. But, I do see some movement going to the left in the shortened segment. It appears to me to perhaps just be a white police officer helmet that is ahead of the JFK limo. I see things better on my iPad screen. I think it is an OLED type screen. Look in the area where I drew a yellow circle. You have to be looking between the vehicles that are going to the right because they are between the camera and the movement that I see. Also, I drew the outline (in blue) of what looks to me to possibly be the shape of Parkland Hospital in the distance. If that is actually Parkland, that would be the direction of travel of the vehicles after they cleared the RR tracks and intersection at Hines.

Charles, I’m mostly replying belatedly to your reply #11 in regard to motion you detected within the area of your yellow circle. I’ve had a difficult time with this area but think now I can see a light colored “blur” appear near that area around frame 094. Frame numbers refer to actual film frames and not the animation frames, which were reduced by about a third due to blur. This object (Green arrow) appears for a few frames moving westward but is soon obscured until it reappears near the end of the film at frame 199 (Blue arrow).  The green region may be where it could look like a white helmet in motion, but much brighter than any other helmet in the film. At this time there is a motorcycle traveling maybe 10-20 feet of so ahead of the blur. It is the #4 motorcycle in my previous post above. This blur, at the Blue arrow position, seems consistent with a light colored sedan. I ponder if this may be the lead car (Curry’s). If it is Curry’s 63 Ford Galaxie 500 there is a lot of chrome surrounding the windshield that would be reflective. I believe whatever vehicle it is it is in lockstep with the four cycles ahead of it.
See the two frame toggle animation showing these arrows.

[Charles Collins]

Charles, I’m mostly replying belatedly to your reply #11 in regard to motion you detected within the area of your yellow circle. I’ve had a difficult time with this area but think now I can see a light colored “blur” appear near that area around frame 094. Frame numbers refer to actual film frames and not the animation frames, which were reduced by about a third due to blur. This object (Green arrow) appears for a few frames moving westward but is soon obscured until it reappears near the end of the film at frame 199 (Blue arrow).  The green region may be where it could look like a white helmet in motion, but much brighter than any other helmet in the film. At this time there is a motorcycle traveling maybe 10-20 feet of so ahead of the blur. It is the #4 motorcycle in my previous post above. This blur, at the Blue arrow position, seems consistent with a light colored sedan. I ponder if this may be the lead car (Curry’s). If it is Curry’s 63 Ford Galaxie 500 there is a lot of chrome surrounding the windshield that would be reflective. I believe whatever vehicle it is it is in lockstep with the four cycles ahead of it.
See the two frame toggle animation showing these arrows.

Thanks James, you continue to amaze me with your work. I will study this closer and let you know if I see anything of additional interest. That’s a good idea about the lead car (Curry’s).