Romulus man charged in fatal crash that killed Farmington Hills couple
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (Fox 2) - A Romulus man is facing numerous charges after police say he hit and killed a couple while fleeing police over the weekend.
Angel Melendez-Ortiz, 35, is charged with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of first degree fleeing and eluding police causing death, two counts of reckless driving causing death, and two counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended/revoked/denied license causing death.
Around 1:30 a.m., Michigan State Police troopers on patrol found a 2006 Ford Super Duty truck that was reported stolen in the back of a gas station on Eight Mile Road.
MSP says Melendez-Ortiz was driving the truck. He backed up, almost hitting the patrol car, and left the parking lot on 8 Mile near the Southfield Freeway. Troopers tried to pull the truck over, but Melendez-Ortiz fled the scene.
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The pursuit continued northbound onto the Lodge with the suspect continuing north onto Telegraph Road. MSP says Melendez-Ortiz shut the truck's headlights off and made a U-turn, driving southbound in the northbound lanes.
The truck re-entered the northbound lanes of the Lodge driving southbound with the headlights still off, says MSP. The truck struck a 2011 GMC Terrain head-on near Civic Center Drive.
Both people in the Terrain, a 45-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, were killed.
Melendez-Ortiz and his 29-year-old passenger, a woman from Detroit, suffered serious injuries.