WARREN, Michigan (CBS DETROIT) – A Pontiac man is accused of killing a mother of two during a police chase in Warren.
James Hudson, 26, is charged with second-degree murder, along with multiple charges of fleeing, eluding and reckless driving.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Warren officers saw three Dodge Chargers speeding down Eight Mile Road, near Ryan Road, at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
“It’s essentially a 5,000-pound bullet hurtling down Eight Mile,” said Warren Police Chief Charles Rushton.
Courtesy: Warren Police Department
When officers attempted to pull them over, one driver stopped and two others, including Hudson, did not stop.
“When we make these decisions, whether we’re going to follow through or not, we have to take that into account. One of the things we consider is are these people likely to slow down. Jump out of the car. Are they going to continue driving recklessly? In this case, I think it was pretty clear that they were driving recklessly before we encountered them. They were likely to continue driving recklessly,” Rushton said.
About three minutes into the chase, Hudson collided with a Jeep near 10 Mile Road and Dequindre Road, according to police.
The violent impact killed the Jeep’s passenger, 42-year-old Katrina Michael, who worked as a receptionist for Samaritas in Troy and was caring for her two children.
The nonprofit donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral costs.
This is the third deadly chase in the city of Warren this year so far.
While officers used remote control sticks during Saturday’s chase, CBS News Detroit asked if the department is considering investing in other tools, such as the StarChase system, which shoots a GPS tracker onto a suspect’s vehicle, or the Grappler, which lassoes a suspect’s tires.
Rushton said the department has explored these options, but he doesn’t think it would have made a difference Saturday.
“At this point I think it’s going to be more dangerous, that there’s probably going to be a collision. It would be an unplanned collision between a police car and a suspect,” Rushton said.
In this case, the suspect remains in custody on $1 million bail after his arraignment on Tuesday, having entered a not guilty plea.
“It’s just horrible that we have to lose lives, that we have to lose limbs over something as senseless as what that vehicle was originally intended for,” said Macomb County District Attorney Peter Lucido.
