FRASER, Mich. (WXYZ) — A wild police chase through Fraser came to a dramatic end when a fleeing suspect's vehicle flipped over into a pond in front of a Warren business — but not before body camera and dash cam video captured the terrifying moment the suspect's vehicle slammed into a police SUV, injuring one of the officers.
The 61-year-old suspect, wanted out of Wayne County for a hit and run and for fleeing and eluding police, crashed his SUV into a pond in Warren after a brief pursuit that started in Fraser. It happened right in front of Drive Train Specialists on Groesbeck.
See the full story in the video below
Two Fraser police officers attempted to stop the suspect after getting a hit on Flock cameras. The suspect pulled behind a business in Fraser, and when an officer went to confront him, the situation turned violent.
"Revved his engine and put it into drive. Swung around in the parking lot and then intentionally rammed the officers," Capt. Scott Matthew of Fraser Public Safety said.
That moment was captured on both the police SUV dash cam and body cam video.
See the dash cam videos of the ramming and aftermath below (Caution: There is graphic language)
One officer sustained minor injuries in the collision.
"One of them sustained minor injuries to his left arm due to airbag deployment. But they're doing much better today," Matthew said.
The pursuit ended a short time later when the suspect's SUV flipped over into a pond, just a few yards away from the office windows of Drive Train Specialists employees.
Richard Purkey, a Drive Train Specialists employee, was sitting at his desk and on the phone with a customer when the pursuit ended near his window.
"I watched him pull into the yard at 40 miles per hour plus. I mean he was cooking," Purkey said.
Purkey said the suspect got lucky that his SUV was not upside down when it stopped rolling.
"If he's under water you know how long before somebody can get to him. But luckily he was right side up wheels to the water so he got lucky," Purkey said.
His colleague, Renee Martinez, told me she feared the suspect was going to crash into their offices.
"That turn is pretty sharp, so I was like oh my god he's going to hit the building," Martinez said.
"My window is right there, and I am like 'do I run. Do I get up?' Then all of a sudden I saw him just flipping over and I was like okay I am good," Martinez said.
Video shows officers get out and hold the suspect at gunpoint.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries after the crash. He is expected to be arraigned by a judge on Wednesday.
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