DETROIT (WWJ) - A suspect wanted for firing shots into a car and a home is dead after his vehicle collided with a semi truck while fleeing from Detroit police Tuesday morning, WWJ's Charlie Langton reports.
Langton said there was a heavy police presence on Houston Whittier St. and Chalmers just after 8 a.m. surrounding a Chrysler 300 crushed under a postal truck.
The driver of the Chrysler was pronounced dead.
"It's a gruesome scene," Langton said as Detroit fire crews had to use the Jaws of Life to free the body from the vehicle that had been draped with a tarp.
Roughly 50 onlookers gathered in the area as officials worked, Langton reported.
Detroit Police Chief James White told reporters at a press conference that the deceased man was wanted for assault with intent to commit murder for an incident at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.
"There was some type of domestic situation where the suspect vehicle shot into a parked vehicle that was occupied by one victim," White explained. "That victim fled from the vehicle into his house. The suspect then shot into the home."
The suspect and victim did appear to know each other, White said.
White credited the city's ShotSpotter, an audio surveillance system that recognizes the sound of gunfire, with alerting police.
The department's Crime Intelligence Unit with the 9th Precinct was then able to determine the suspect had been to a gas station that participated in Detroit's Project Green Light program.
The suspect's vehicle, a Chrysler 300, and license plate number were obtained and put out to police on patrol.
"They see this vehicle," White said of the officers that were in the area. "They attempt a traffic stop, he flees from them. They lose him for about a minute. They’re continuing to look for him... that's when they come upon the Glenfield/Wilfred area and they see this truck, they see the vehicle has collided with the truck. They check on the victim in the vehicle of the accident and he is obviously deceased."
They did recover two weapons out of the Chrysler which was reported stolen out of Romulus on July 11, White said.
At this time, White said authorities are still investigating the deceased man's identity, age and other personal information so his family can be notified.
White estimated the suspect vehicle got up to 100 mph before smashing into the 18-wheeler. The semi truck driver was said to be visibly shaken at the scene. but uninjured in the crash.
White said she was taken to the hospital out of precaution.
Chalmers was completely blocked off as the scene was under police investigation.
White said Project Green Light and ShotSpotter are the reason why police were able to respond as quickly as they did.
"We found a scene where someone was trying to kill somebody," White said. "The tools work. The officers are doing a phenomenal job."
White also expressed his condolences to the man's family, calling the incident a "very sad and tragic situation."
"My heart goes out to his family. He's still someone's son, possibly someone husband or brother, we don't know yet... it should not have happened, but we’ve got a situation where he made an unfortunate decision..." White said.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WWJ LIVE for the latest updates.
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