Police: Fatal rollover crash caused by driver fleeing

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A car crash on Detroit's west side left one person dead and three injured on Thursday night.

The crash killed the 22-year-old driver and left a mangled mess on Hubble near Fenkell after police tried to pull the car over for speeding. It crashed after hitting two other cars and rolling over. The 25-year-old passenger in the front was taken to the hospital with fractures along with two others for minor injuries.

"That young man made the bad decision to speed away from the police," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said.

New details were released Friday by police who say at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, officers spotted a man in his 20s driving a blue Hyundai Sonata speeding.

Officers tried to pull over the young driver with lights flashing and sirens on, but that driver fled.

"They quickly realized ... that (since) they can't pursue solely for a traffic infraction, they backed off," Craig said.

Officers said the driver continued to accelerate, speeding through a red light at Fenkell and hitting two other cars, then rolling over. The driver was trapped inside.
 
Police stressed on Friday that the deadly crash was the result of a bad decision, not officers chasing someone for speeding.

"If you make a decision to evade, the officers now have to make a decision what am I trying to stop?"

Craig said after reviewing video from the scene, it did not appear the officers involved did anything outside of department policy.

"I saw no police car in sight," he said. "Which tells me they were not actively engaged or actively pursuing."

Craig said he was thankful no others were hurt in the unnecessary chaos. 

"It's always unfortunate when there's a loss of life due to a traffic collision," Craig said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."