HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A street takeover in Hamtramck early Monday morning ended in a crash after dozens of cars blocked an intersection for illegal burnouts and fled from police.
Watch Faraz Javed's video report:
Just before 1:30 a.m., approximately 30 cars took over the intersection of Lumpkin and Poland. Security camera footage shows several cars strategically blocking the intersection minutes before the burnouts began.
Hamtramck Police Department patrol vehicles responded within seconds.
"So as they arrived, they had their lights and sirens on. They saw cars blocking the roadway, obstructing all traffic, vehicles with people hanging out of the windows, and just being reckless and dangerous," Detective Sgt. Anthony Gonzales said.
When officers arrived, the cars began to flee. During the pursuit, the fleeing vehicles drove too wide into oncoming traffic. A suspect driving a stolen Dodge Challenger, several cars ahead of the police, crashed into a civilian's Jeep.
RAW VIDEO: Car does burnout, audience departs when police arrive
"As they were pursuing them, the vehicles began going too wide into oncoming traffic. And then a vehicle that was several cars ahead of the police officers that, at the time, they couldn't even observe, crashed into another civilian vehicle," Gonzales said.
The driver of the Jeep walked away without any serious injuries. Dash camera footage shows the suspect in the stolen Dodge Challenger running away on foot. The suspect remains at large.
DASH CAM VIDEO: Police arrive on scene in Hamtramck (**Warning**, video contains profanity)
Police obtained license plates from multiple vehicles involved in the takeover and identified several cars stolen from other cities. None of the plates currently trace back to Hamtramck residents.
"We have obtained plates on multiple vehicles that were involved there. We've identified multiple vehicles that were stolen out of other cities involved in this, but none of those plates are currently coming back to any Hamtramck residents," Gonzales said.
Police say reckless driving is an ongoing issue in the city, with an uptick usually seen during warmer months. The department is aggressively enforcing the Wayne County drag racing ordinance to target both participants and spectators blocking the roadway.
"We are going more aggressively in the Wayne County ordinance enforcement of the drag racing that allows us to also go after those that are spectating and participating in the blockade of the roadway," Gonzales said.
Hamtramck resident Wadah Fadal expressed concern over the dangerous activity in the neighborhood.
"When you have kids in that area and the streets, that's a bad thing. We hope that police or the city, they're taking some action about it," Fadal said. "This time nobody got hurt, but may not be lucky next time."
Gonzales emphasized the danger these takeovers pose to innocent bystanders.
"We never want to see anybody harmed or their property harmed. That is why we are pursuing this, because the big thing about this is that the drivers are doing these donuts and knowingly putting themselves at risk. But what they don't think about is the civilians that they're putting at risk," Gonzales said.
Police have strong leads on the suspects but are still asking anyone with information about the incident at Poland and Lumpkin to contact them.
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