OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – It was Thanksgiving of 2017 when Christopher Joseph Berak led deputies on a chase in his Saturn.
UPDATE: Driver sentenced to life in prison
Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy Eric Overall was working to deploy stop sticks when he was struck and killed by Berak’s car. Berak was charged with leading deputies on the chase and deliberately hitting and killing Overall at the intersection of M-15 and Seymore Lake Road on Thanksgiving Day 2017.
“He continued. And then when he got up to the intersection there he hit his break and steered right. I observed the deputy being hit,” another deputy testified in court.
Investigators believed Berak’s actions were intentional, and so did the court of law. He was just recently found guilty of first-degree murder.
Although, at one point there was a question about Berak’s mental health. Audio allegedly recorded on 22-year-old’s cellphone revealed the defendant’s thoughts after the crash.
“I am satan, but I am also god. I am the creator. If you charge me for a ticket for driving on the street that you paved on my planet, I will f****** kill you,” it reads.
Deputy Overall’s widow, Sonya, had a few choice words about Berak.
“We’re all trying to cope as best we can. This has not only affected me but the thousands that are mourning him. He will never set foot outside a jail cell,” she said.
Berak’s sentencing is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday at Oakland County Circuit Court.