SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A 35-year-old Romulus man is facing murder and other charges after allegedly crashing into a couple head-on on the Lodge Freeway in Southfield, killing them over the weekend.
Angel Melendez-Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Jan. 10 on charges related to the Jan. 6 wrong-way crash that killed two parents, Jen and Ryan Ambrosio, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office announced. Melendez-Ortiz is accused of fleeing from police and driving a pickup truck in the wrong direction on the freeway at around 1:30 a.m. without any headlights on, crashing into the couple.
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Officials say Jen Ambrosio, 43, and Ryan Ambrosio, 45, from Farmington Hills, were on their way home from a date night when they collided with the pickup truck. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Melendez-Ortiz and his passenger, identified only as a 29-year-old woman from Detroit, were both injured in the crash and initially hospitalized in serious condition. They were both expected to survive. Melendez-Ortiz was taken into custody.
Here’s what happened leading up to the crash, according to police:
- Troopers on patrol spotted a stolen Ford pickup truck at a gas station on 8 Mile Road at 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 6.
- The driver of the truck, identified now as Melendez-Ortiz, backed up, nearly struck the patrol car, and left the gas station.
- Melendez-Ortiz allegedly fled from police as troopers attempted to pull him over. He reportedly traveled at fast speeds, exceeding 100 mph at points. Police pursued the driver onto the northbound Lodge Freeway.
- Melendez-Ortiz got off the freeway at northbound Telegraph Road, turned off his headlights, did a U-turn over a median to head southbound on Telegraph Road, and reentered the northbound lanes of the Lodge. He was then traveling in the wrong direction on the freeway with his headlights off.
- That’s when the wrong-way driver struck a GMC Terrain near Civic Center Drive in Southfield. The Ambrosios were killed in the crash.
Melendez-Ortiz was scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. on Jan. 10. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with the following:
- Two counts of second-degree murder.
- Two counts of first-degree fleeing and eluding police, causing death.
- Two counts of reckless driving causing death.
- Two counts of operating a vehicle with a license that’s suspended/revoked/denied causing death.
If convicted, Melendez-Ortiz may face a sentence of life in prison due to the second-degree murder charge. All of the charges against him are felonies and carry punishments of years in prison and/or fines involving thousands of dollars.
A photo of Melendez-Ortiz will not be made available until after he is arraigned. He was still in the hospital as of Wednesday.
The Ambrosios leave behind six children between the ages of 2 and 9 years old.
Noriko Ernst, a member of the family’s church, told Local 4 that the parents were gentle, unassuming, and patient, and “a wonderful model for the entire church family.”