HOWELL, Mich. – Authorities have released dashboard camera footage of a high-speed chase down Grand River Avenue that ended in a crash outside Howell.
The incident began at about noon, Tuesday, July 2, when a 911 call alerted the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office of a reckless driver on westbound I-96. Callers reportedly said a Ford Crown Victoria was speeding, weaving between vehicles and passing on the shoulder along I-96 and US-127. At about 12:45 p.m., a 911 call claimed the vehicle was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of US-127. Sheriff’s deputies attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle as it made its way onto eastbound I-96, but the driver fled.
After the driver nearly caused several crashes, the pursuit was terminated.
According to authorities, Ingham County 911 Dispatch received a call at about 1:30 p.m. from a woman just outside Webberville who said a man broke into her home and demanded her keys or he would kill her. Law enforcement reportedly found the man in the stolen white pickup driving north on Stockbridge Road and attempted another traffic stop, but he fled on Grand River Avenue.
Another pursuit was called off due to the potential risk to the public, but the vehicle was tracked by a Michigan State Police helicopter as it drove eastbound into Livingston County. Michigan State Police and sheriff’s deputies from Livingston and Ingham counties attempted to stop the vehicle in Fowlerville, which resulted in a high-speed chase down Grand River Avenue.
After deputies flattened two of the pickup’s tires, the pursuit ended in a crash on Grand River Avenue, near Lawson Road in Genoa Township, just east of Howell. Police said the driver struck a Lexus SUV that had two people inside.
Dashboard camera footage of the incident can be watched in the video player above.
The driver -- identified only as a man from Fenton -- was taken to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing and will face charges in Ingham and Livingston counties regarding the incident. The occupants of the Lexus experienced minor injuries and are expected to be OK.
The woman whose pickup was stolen was not injured during the home invasion.
The eastbound lanes of Grand River Avenue were closed for a few hours after the crash but have since reopened to normal traffic.