Detroit – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have confirmed they were in chase with a suspect before a crash on Detroit’s west side Thursday.
It happened near the intersection of Warwick Street and Whitlock Avenue, where a driver crashed into a fence, landed on top of two vehicles, and was impaled in the chest by a pole from the fence.
In a video shared with Local 4 by someone who lives in the area, you can see the vehicle driving down the road, running a stop sign, and then another vehicle with flashing lights driving behind it.
“It just sounded like metal crunching,” said a woman who say the chase happening but wanted to remain anonymous. “I didn’t hear any screeching tires or anything.
The witness said she saw the chase unfold from a nearby park where she was with her three children. The noise she heard, she later realized, was a car crashing.
The Detroit Fire Department said the driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
In a statement Friday afternoon, ICE confirmed its officers were involved in the pursuit. The agency said officers initially tried to stop the driver, but he hit three government vehicles and pinned an officer’s leg in a car door before speeding away.
ICE said the driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed.
The witness said she is relieved no one else was hurt, but questions whether this action could have been prevented.
“I do feel like there’s a little bit of question of how responsible it is for the driver to have been pursued,” the woman said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on pursuit policies or whether any protocols were followed or violated.
ICE said the incident remains under investigation and that officials will release more information as it becomes available. The full statement is below.
“Yesterday, ICE officers attempted a lawful vehicle stop on the west side of Detroit during a targeted enforcement operation.
As officers attempted the stop, the suspect immediately dangerously tried to evade arrest and struck three government vehicles, pinning an ICE officer’s leg in the car door.
The suspect continued on before losing control of his vehicle and crashing through a fence and a garage before the vehicle came to a stop on top of two other vehicles.
An ICE officer and the suspect were transported to area hospitals for treatment. This incident remains an active and ongoing investigation, and we will update the public as more information becomes available.
This dangerous attempt to evade arrest comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and provided resources and tips for how to openly defy ICE."
ICE Spokesperson