The suspects in a series of chases — some in excess of 100 mph — throughout a lot of Livingston County on Friday, Feb. 9 are still at large, though the two men in the fleeing vehicle have been identified by police.
According to a release from the Hamburg Township Public Safety Department, at about 4:15 p.m. Friday, an officer with the City of Brighton Police Department attempted to stop a Volkswagen Jetta with two males inside for an unknown traffic violation in the area of Challis Road and Brighton Interior.
Rather than stopping, the driver accelerated to elude the officer, who chased the vehicle for a short distance before ending his pursuit.
About five minutes later, a Hamburg Township police officer saw the Jetta heading south at a high rate of speed on Chilson Road near Bishop Lake Road. The officer used his emergency lights and siren to try to stop the vehicle, but it kept on going, heading south on Chilson Road near Winans Lake Road, where a second Hamburg Township police officer attempted to stop the Jetta using a PIT maneuver, which did not stop the driver, who continued fleeing north on Chilson Road before heading west on Swarthout Road.
The Hamburg officers continued the pursuit on Swarthout Road and then south on D-19 into the Village of Pinckney. They terminated the pursuit as the vehicle headed north on Hinchey Road in Putnam Township at speeds well in excess of 100 mph.
At about 5 p.m., an officer with the Fowlerville Police Department saw the Jetta driving recklessly in the area of Fowlerville Road and I-96. He used his lights and siren in another attempt to stop the vehicle, but it kept on going. The Jetta entered eastbound I-96, where a Livingston County Sheriff’s Office deputy assisted in the pursuit. The Jetta exited at D-19 and headed north on Michigan Avenue into the City of Howell. Both police agencies stopped the pursuit after losing sight of the Jetta because of its speed and reckless driving.
A short time later, officers with the Howell PD found the Jetta abandoned in a parking lot in the area of Grand River Avenue and National Street. An extensive search of the area for the two suspects, including use of the Fowlerville PD’s K-9, was unsuccessful.
The two men in the Jetta were subsequently identified; they both have outstanding warrants from prior cases.
