Investigators working to determine motive behind fatal Southfield Freeway shooting
DETROIT (FOX 2) - After a crash investigation shifted to a murder investigation, police are left trying to figure out if the shooting was targeted or the result of road rage.
Michigan State Police responded Friday night to a fiery crash on the southbound side of the Southfield Freeway near Plymouth. Witnesses said they saw a silver Ford F-150 lose control and hit a Yukon around 11:30 p.m.
The force of the crash pushed the pickup onto the embankment, where it struck a concrete wall and the driver was ejected. The truck then rolled back onto the freeway and caught fire.
"The problem that we are having is that so many people were focused just on the crash that they didn’t catch the suspects’ vehicle or anything that happened beforehand, so we are kind of stuck trying to figure out exactly if this was a targeted shooting, if this was a road rage incident," MSP F/Lt. Mike Shaw said.
A bullet hole in the bed of the truck led police to determine it was a homicide.
"Autopsy results came back, and the victim did have multiple gunshot wounds. We also had a shot spotter activation for that arra at that time period, so we know the shots were fired on the freeway, recovered some shell casings," Shaw said.
Now, police are asking for the public's help solving this case.
"This is one of the reasons why troopers ask so many questions when we arrive at these scenes, because something may start off as one thing and end up totally different, and it’s always hard to put it back together once that evidence is gone," Shaw said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.