Double fatal crash caused by domestic violence suspect fleeing from police in Monroe County
MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two people were killed in a crash after a driver fled a police traffic stop in Monroe County.
The devastating crash took place in Whiteford Township and one that simply did not have to happen. Now the at-fault driver is dead along with an innocent woman and people living nearby, say she could have been anyone of them.
Michigan State Police troopers worked into the night processing the crash, saying a domestic violence suspect in a pickup truck fled from troopers who stopped him around 4 p.m. Thursday.
The suspect raced down Whiteford Road, ran a stop sign and slammed into an SUV.
Neighbor Tracy Clegg heard the carnage before seeing the aftermath.
"At first I heard the sirens, and then I heard a loud bang," she said.
The impact caused both vehicles to catch fire. The suspect and the woman in the SUV died.
"It was the worst accident I’ve seen in my life," said Holly Zdybek.
Zdybek lives on the corner of Whiteford and Whiteford Center roads where the collision happened — she spotted the crash while driving home, and ran towards the wreckage to help to put out the flames.
"And to know that she is not going home. Right around the holidays," she said. "It’s not worth it to be speeding and take another life like that. That’s not worth it. Pull over."
Neighbors say the intersection has been accident-prone for years – and it’s hard to tell there’s a one-way stop, unless drivers are familiar with the area. Combine that with a speeding driver trying to outrun police, and they say tragedy is bound to happen.
Clegg says the woman driving the SUV did not stand a chance.
"I just hope she didn’t suffer from it, it doesn’t seem like it - he was going over 80 miles an hour, so he kind of just ran her over," Clegg said.
"She probably even saw it coming from what they told me, how fast he was going," Zdybek said. "And they can't even determine yet where she came from."
State police have not yet released the identities of the man and woman killed in the crash, as the investigation continues.
