Pursuit Began as Traffic Offense, Ends in Crash

Mental health issues may have been a factor in a high-speed pursuit on Mack Avenue that ended Monday night in a crash at Mack and Cadillac in Detroit, Capt. David Loch said Tuesday.

The 36-year-old Harper Woods man in the Park's custody was not injured but two people in the car he crashed into were taken to a Detroit hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Loch said.

Officers have turned the case over to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review and possible criminal charges, Loch said. Park officials are awaiting the decision of the prosecutor's office, he said.

The first pursuit began and ended in , Director of Public Safety Dan Jensen said Tuesday. However, it picked back up again in the briefly and then escalated into a high-speed pursuit down Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Park, Jensen said.

A Farms officer performing radar on passing motorists on Moross Road Monday night began trying to stop the Harper Woods man, who was driving a Chevrolet Malibu 48 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone, Jensen said. 

The man refused to stop but Jensen said officers do not believe the man immediatley realized an officer was trying to pull him over in part because the vehicle being used was the department's Challenger. The man was driving erratically and made several quick turns after the officer began following him and attempting to stop him for speeding only, Jensen said. 

They traveled from Moross to Kercheval Avenue and then at Kercheval Avenue and Country Club Drive, Jensen said the man seemed to take note of the officer. He suddenly sped up going faster than he had been. At this point, the Farms officer stopped the pursuit given the nature of the offense and the risk of havig a pursuit in a residential area, Jensen said.

The driver was next seen turning onto Mack from Fisher Road in the City, Jensen said.

The pursuit began again on Mack Avenue when a Grosse Pointe Park officer witnessed the man driving more than 60 miles per hour in a 30 mile-per-hour zone near Cadieux Road, Loch said.

It continued down Mack Avenue to Cadillac, where the Harper Woods man drove through a red light and crashed into another car traveling through the intersection on a green light. Both people in the car were taken to a Detroit hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Loch said.

Officers who witnessed the speed at which the man was driving feared he was not going to slow down, which is why the pursuit continued through the Park and into Detroit, Loch said.