Suspect ejected after crashing during police pursuit, blocking westbound I-94
Detroit man ejected from vehicle during police chase
Sterling Heights police say a driver is in critical condition after being ejected from a vehicle while fleeing officers Monday morning. He drove away from officers while they attempted a traffic stop.
(FOX 2) - A police pursuit early Monday morning led to a crash on I-94.
The violent crash left a vehicle totaled and its driver - the suspect who fled police - in critical condition.
What we know:
All lanes of westbound I-94 became blocked Monday morning after a police pursuit that started in Sterling Heights ended in a violent crash on the highway.
The crash happened near Nine Mile, leading to massive backups for everyone heading west into the city.
The pursuit began at 3:15 a.m. when Sterling Heights police tried pulling over a black Dodge Charger. It instead sped away, leading to the chase.
The attempted traffic stop was due to a stolen car, according to Sterling Heights police. The chase was led through several communities before ending on the highway.
The driver was ejected after crashing, and is listed in critical condition.
What we don't know:
While police said the chase was due to a stolen vehicle, they would not go into details while the investigation continues.
The driver was identified as a 27-year-old man out of Detroit. He does have a criminal history, but no other identifying information was available.
A 27-year-old man was ejected from his vehicle while fleeing police on the highway.
Dig deeper:
In an interview with FOX 2, Sterling Heights police said that twice they tried using stop sticks to keep the vehicle from fleeing, but were unsuccessful.
As the driver fled police, they lost control and slid down the embankment onto I-94, which threw him from the vehicle.
Police say the chase is connected to a stolen Chevrolet Camaro that was taken from a driveway near the Metropolitan Parkway at Dequindre in Sterling Heights around 3:15 a.m.
Using cameras to find the stolen vehicle, police identified the Dodge Charger as being involved in the original theft.
No police were injured during the chase.
What they're saying:
A Sterling Heights police captain characterized the incident as what happens when they try to catch bad people.
"The suspect doesn't care, they're not caring about anybody's commute, he's not caring about any of the safety of anybody else," said. Capt. Mario Bastianelli. "They're fleeing at high speeds, obviously going through multiple jurisdictions - there's no care, he just wants to get away and evade police."