Police: Fleeing vehicle leads to fatal crash

By: Eric Czarnik | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published August 21, 2023

STERLING HEIGHTS — A vehicle that was trying to outrun the cops was reportedly involved in a crash that killed a Sterling Heights woman Aug. 12, Sterling Heights police said.

According to police, the incident started around 9:30 p.m., when officers at Van Dyke Avenue and 15 Mile Road tried to pull over a 16-year-old male Detroit resident who was driving a tan Chevrolet Equinox. The cause for the stop was not explained.

However, the Equinox allegedly fled and headed northbound along Van Dyke, police said. Then it reportedly ran through a red light at Metropolitan Parkway and crashed into a black GMC Terrain that was in the intersection.

According to Sterling Heights police Lt. Mario Bastianelli, the Terrain had three Sterling Heights residents as occupants: a 34-year-old man, a 31-year-old woman and their 2-year-old son. The occupants were all critically injured and hospitalized, and the woman died, police said.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of this tragic incident,” Bastianelli said in a statement.

Police arrested the Equinox’s driver, who reportedly wasn’t injured. Bastianelli added that police were still investigating the matter and couldn’t comment further at the time.

Anyone who has more information about this incident is encouraged to call the Sterling Heights Police Department’s Investigations Bureau at (586) 446-2825.