DETROIT – A 29-year-old Detroit man is charged with second degree murder in connection to the case of a car fleeing police which struck and killed two children Wednesday evening on the city's easy side.
Lorenzo Harris is charged with the following:
Second degree murder -- two counts; fleeing and eluding first degree -- two counts; leaving the scene of an accident when at fault causing death -- two counts; reckless driving causing serious impairment -- three counts; leaving the scene of an accident when at fault causing serious injury -- three counts; unlawful driving away from an accident; carrying concealed weapon; felon in possession and felony firearm.
Harris was arraigned Saturday morning and is being held without bail. His probable cause hearing is scheduled for July 6 at 8:30 a.m. His preliminary exam will be on July 13 at 1:30 p.m.
What happened:
Police Chief James Craig said police began chasing a Camaro with a firearms suspect inside Wednesday evening. He said that the Camaro accelerated to more than 70 mph, and police only pursued it for 75 seconds before backing off and losing sight of it.
Craig said the Camaro then hit a stop sign, went up onto a sidewalk and hit the concrete porch of a home on Nottingham Street. In the middle of it all, the victims were hit.
Craig said officers on the scene rushed the children to St. John Hospital, where two of the children were declared dead.
Boy, 7, and girl, 3, killed
Family members have identified the two deceased children as 7-year-old Michael Angelo Jackson and his half-sister, 3-year-old Makiah Jackson.
The other victims are cousins: 3-year-old Darius Andrews Jr., 5-year-old Isaiah Williams and 7-year-old Zyaire Gardner.
According to the hospital, Andrews is in serious condition; Williams is in serious condition; and Gardner is in critical condition.
"They've got tubes all in his side and all in his head," Gardner's father said, who didn't want to be identified. The father said his son has been taken to the University of Michigan Hospital because he has a collapsed lung.
A 23-year-old woman was also hurt.
Victims' grandmother: 'I'm not blaming police'
"I'm going to miss them because my kids look forward to waking up every day and playing with them, and they're not going to have that anymore," said Nicole Jackson, the grandmother of the two deceased children. "I blame the person who was recklessly driving down the street, and who took it upon themselves to drive up on the sidewalk where children were playing. I'm not blaming the police. I'm blaming the person who did all this."
Craig said police arrested two people from the car. One had injuries that were not life-threatening. No other details on them were immediately released.
Read: Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality statement on speeding car that killed 2 children
The family of the children has setup a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses. More information can be found here: gofundme.com/m-mcare.