Detroit defense attorney dead after crash involving multiple police officers early Monday

DETROIT - Multiple Detroit police officers were hospitalized and a Detroit lawyer is dead after a vehicle collision at an intersection early Monday morning.

Well-known defense attorney dies in collision with Detroit police cruiser

Detroit Police Chief James Craig is weighing in on the death of Cliff Woodards II saying it should not have happened.

A marked squad car had been responding to requests for backup when they were on a service drive along I-96. As the vehicle was passing through West Chicago, it collided with another car.

While Detroit police did not identify the victim, FOX 2 has confirmed with the morgue and two other sources that Cliff Woodards II is the deceased driver.

The crash happened around 1 a.m. when officers from the 2nd precinct had flipped their lights and sirens on while traveling east on the Jeffries Service Drive.

Traveling in a Ford Explorer, the officers collided with a Lexus IS 250, which was driven by a 58-year-old man heading south on West Chicago.

Cliff Woodards II, a Detroit-based attorney, died following a crash involving Detroit police early Monday morning. He was 58

Medics were requested to the location and eventually transported the 58-year-old Woodard to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Woodard, a local defense attorney, had worked as a former talk show host and radio personality, according to his Facebook page. He studied law at Wayne State University.

The officers involved were also taken to a hospital where they were listed in stable condition.

The DPD's fatal squad is investigating the scene.