CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Lonnie Wimberly was 45 years old. He was just trying to get home from work.
At 2:45 a.m. Saturday he was driving this SUV on Hall Road in Clinton Township when he was T-boned by another vehicle driven by a man who was fleeing Macomb County Sheriff's deputies.
"To lose my oldest son is very hurtful. What happened to him is just a tragedy," said Lonnie's father, L.C. Wimberly.
Antonio Forton, 24, was the man being chased. The pursuit lasted 4 minutes. He was northbound on Gratiot Avenue when he ran the red light. He also was killed by the crash.
Original report: Two killed in Clinton Township car crash
"We want to make sure -- because we have two lives lost in this -- that our deputies acted in accordance with our policies and procedures," said Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.
Local 4 has obtained the report taken by St. Clair Shores Police less than an hour before the crash. An officer who talked to Forton's girlfriend wrote: "Antonio had been drinking heavily since (9:30) .. they were driving home and a verbal argument ensued."
The girlfriend stopped the car at a 7-Eleven. Forton "... got on the hood and began to apologize." The girlfriend left the car and Forton drove off in it. Deputies spotted him in Mount Clemens.
"They activated their emergency equipment to stop, as in any routine traffic stop, and at that point the subject fled," said Wickersham.
Lonnie Wimberly's father questions why the chase was necessary.
"There needs to be protocols for the high-speed chases like that and fleeing and eluding when you can pick him up tomorrow," said the father.
Wimberly was driving home from a Detroit club where he worked as a DJ. A broken microphone was found at the crash. His parents say when they were facing life-threatening illnesses, Lonnie helped them through it.
"He never used profanity. He was just a great kid, a great kid," said L.C.