DETROIT – New information was discovered about the driver who died after crashing into multiple cars, causing his SUV to catch fire on Detroit’s east side.
The crash occurred Monday (Jan. 23) morning on Lantz Avenue in the area of I-75 and 7 Mile Road.
A mother from Detroit said she narrowly missed getting hit by the driver as he crashed just 100-feet from her front door.
“It’s just crazy,” said the woman who wanted to remain anonymous. “It’s unnerving.”
For much of Monday, police had investigated the scene as a fatal crash but later updated Local 4, saying the investigation had turned into a homicide with neighbors on edge.
“That’s just sickening,” the woman said. “That could’ve been me and my daughter this morning.”
Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detroit police blocked the area for hours as they examined the burned-out vehicle.
The man inside was killed around 8:30 a.m. Monday (Jan 23).
“Most of my neighbors are gone before that, and we’re normally the last ones to leave off the block because I take her to school, and then I go to work,” the woman said.
Read: Driver dies after crashing into multiple cars, causing SUV to catch fire, police say
Detroit police said the driver hit several cars parked on Irvington Street near Lantz Avenue on the city’s east side.
When his vehicle finally came to a stop, police said the car burst into flames.
“I’m like, ‘What’s going on,” the woman said. “My toddler is up, and he’s looking out the windows, and I see stuff, and I’m like, ‘What happened’ just that quick.”
The man had suffered severe head injuries and was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
“You don’t know what they’re going to go through now,” the woman said. “It’s sad and hurtful because I know what it is to lose someone.”
Police continue to look for a cause of death.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.
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