Street race in Highland Park turns deadly

18-year-old dead following Sunday race

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – Street racing is alive and well on the streets of metro Detroit -- one race ending with the death of a teen. 

One of these street races happened on Puritan near Rosa Parks in Highland Park Sunday evening.

Witnesses told Local 4 there were three young men inside a Pontiac Grand Prix when the driver lost control, hit a building and came to rest in a vacant lot.  An 18-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Clifford Fuller was on the scene moments after the crash. 

He said witnesses and police were frantically trying to free the other two men from the wreckage.

"It was pretty difficult. The car was crunched up from a heavy impact," he said.

Highland Park police said the men were street racing -- where people line up and race on city streets. It is not just dangerous for the racing drivers, but dangerous for anybody on the road.

Fuller said the race in Highland Park was headed toward him. "If I had been on the road just ten minute earlier they would've hit me head on," he said.

Witnesses said the other car involved in the race didn't stick around after that crash.

In the meantime, the men who survived the crash remain hospitalized. 

They could face charges of engaging in a race that resulted in the death of someone in their car.


About the Author:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.