Driver kills best friends in crash on Telegraph Road in Dearborn Heights

Police: Pickup truck ran red light at Telegraph, Ford roads intersection; 3 killed, 1 in critical condition

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – Only by seeing the video and images can one understand the magnitude of what happened Friday at the intersection of Telegraph and Ford roads.

Both a car and pickup truck were obliterated by the crash which killed three people and left another in critical condition.

Read more: Telegraph Road crash kills 3, critically injures 1

Inside the car, a Honda, were three young men: Adnan Berisha, his best friend Markel Jackson Willis and his cousin, Will. Berisha and Jackson were both pronounced dead at the crash scene. Will survived but was in critical condition Friday night and undergoing surgery.

All three were 2012 graduates of Annapolis High School and had been attending Asher Adult Education in Southgate. Friends started showing up at the intersection on Friday, stunned by the sudden loss.

"Adnan was a sweetheart. I told him everything about my life. I went to him for advice. He made me laugh on days I wanted to cry. He was a really good friend to me," said Chelsea Cruz.

Friends remember Willis as a cheerful, funny guy.

"Markel was a jokester. He was awesome and he could make anybody laugh, all the time," said friend Monica Dreon.

Police say the Honda had the right-of-way at the intersection. It was traveling on Telegraph Road when the black pickup truck, driven by a man in his 40s, traveling westbound on Ford Road went right through the red light at the Telegraph intersection. The pickup smashed into the smaller car, killing the pickup driver, Berisha, Willis and critically injuring Will.

Witnesses, such as Hassan Beydoun, rushed to help but knew they were looking at death.

"I felt bad, man. It's crazy. It's sad. A lot of people tried to help," Beydoun said.

Family members of one of the victims says a fund has been set up for Markel Jackson Willis. Donations can be made to the Markel Jackson Willis fund at any Fifth Third Bank. The account number is 9978541028.


-- Adnan Berisha and Markel Jackson Willis


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