2 killed in crash with wrong-way driver fleeing Michigan State Police, freeway closed over 11 hours

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Lodge Freeway near Lahser Road has reopened after a crash investigation closed it for over 11 hours. Two people were killed after a wrong-way driver fleeing Michigan State Police crashed early Saturday morning.

Around 1:30 a.m., MSP South Post troopers on patrol found a 2006 Ford Super Duty truck that was reported stolen in the back of a gas station on Eight Mile Road.

MSP says the suspect driver in the truck backed up, almost hitting the patrol car, and left the parking lot on 8 Mile near the Southfield Freeway. Troopers tried to pull the truck over and the suspect fled the scene, said MSP.

The pursuit continued northbound onto the Lodge with the suspect continuing north onto Telegraph Road. MSP says the suspect shut the truck's headlights off and made a U-turn driving southbound in the northbound lanes.

The truck re-entered the northbound lanes of the Lodge driving southbound with the headlights still off, says MSP. The truck struck a 2011 GMC Terrain head-on near Civic Center Drive.

Both people in the GMC Terrain, a 45-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman from Farmington Hills, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their family has been notified, according to MSP.

The driver in the suspect vehicle, a 35-year-old man from Romulus, and the passenger, a 29-year-old female from Detroit, are both in serious condition at the hospital. MSP says both are expected to survive.

The investigation is ongoing.

The First District Investigative Response Team and the MSP crash reconstruction section investigated the incident. Once the investigation is complete their findings will be forwarded to the Oakland County Prosecutor.

Crime and Public Safety Michigan State Police Southfield