WARREN, Mich. – There are still many questions surrounding the Warren crash that left two best friends dead and two police officers badly injured.
Crash details
Warren police Lt. John Gajewski said the crash happened around 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, on Schoenherr Road, just south of Toepfer Road. That’s north of 8 Mile Road.
Two officers were in a marked patrol SUV when they collided with a white Dodge Durango, authorities said.
Based on the wreckage, it appears the front of the police SUV struck the Durango. The Durango ended up off the road, on its side.
2 men killed, 2 officers badly hurt
The two men in the Durango -- Cedric Hayden and DeJuan Pettis -- were killed in the crash.
Police said one of the men was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was taken to a nearby hospital before the pronouncement.
Family members said Hayden and Pettis were lifelong best friends. They were very well-known and beloved in the area.
One officer was critically injured and had to be extricated by Warren firefighters. He had surgery Monday afternoon at a nearby hospital.
The other officer is also in critical condition. He is undergoing medical evaluations.
Officials said both have “many broken bones.”
Where were officers heading?
Gajewski said the officers were not involved in a chase at the time of the crash.
“This was not a vehicle pursuit,” Gajewski said. “We are confident of that.”
He doesn’t want to confirm or deny whether they had lights or sirens on when they struck the Durango.
“Obviously, this was a car accident,” Gajewski said. “The officers were clearly driving. As far as what they were doing, where they were going, what they were doing -- I don’t want to comment on that. I don’t want to speculate. It’s still too early on, and obviously, with them being in surgery, I haven’t had a chance to talk to them yet.”
You can hear Gajewski’s full comments in this video:
Emotional crash scene
Hayden and Pettis were turning onto their street at the time of the crash, Local 4 has learned.
More than seven hours later, there was still a crowd near the crash scene while police provided updates on what happened.
It was an emotionally charged situation. More officers were called to keep the situation under control. Cooler heads appear to have prevailed.
Connection to break-in?
Gajewski addressed the possibility that the officers involved in the crash were responding to the sighting of a stolen car.
Later Monday morning, there was a break-in at a Warren gas station that led to a chase.
“I can tell you that there’s been some information about a break-in or a stolen vehicle or another police pursuit, and I want to make one thing very clear: There was a vehicle pursuit related to a break-in,” Gajewski said. “It occurred two hours after this unfortunate accident. We know these suspects in the break-in are not related to the accident. The occupants of the white Dodge Durango, we know, they were not the same suspects we were pursuing for the break-in.”
Independent investigation
The Warren Police Department has asked the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office to do an independent investigation into the crash.
“We owe that to everybody here to make sure the right information is obtained and so that there’s no allegations of bias or anything,” Gajewski said. “The independent investigation was launched. The sheriff’s department is here on scene.”
He said it’s a large scene, so the investigation will take time.
What we don’t know
There are still several questions that haven’t officially been answered.
Here are some of the things we don’t know about this case:
- Who was at fault in the crash?
- How fast were the cars going at the time of the crash?
- Were the officers indeed trying to track down a stolen car?
- If so, what kind of accusations was the car thief facing?
- If so, under what circumstances was the car stolen?
- Was there any link between the break-in and what the officers were doing at the time of the crash?
- Were there any altercations -- verbal or physical -- between police and members of the crowd at the crash scene?
