High Speed Pursuit Ends in Deadly Crash

DETROIT (WJBK) - A wild police chase on Detroit's west side ended in a fiery crash as a stolen truck was hit by a van. The truck then flipped, hit a pole and burst into flames.

Shawn Fusion's morning coffee at Telway Hamburgers on Detroit's southwest side was quite an eye opening experience. "The next thing I know he hit the pole and it was up in flames," he said.

Fusion was standing just a few feet away from the horrific crash involving a man who was driving a stolen pickup truck and a woman driving a red Voyager. She somehow managed to walk away from the fiery collision with only minor injuries.

"Saw the fuel coming from the fuel tank going down the gutter of the street. It was without a doubt the ugliest scene that I've seen in my 17 years doing this," said Metro Chopper Pilot Bill Szumanski. He had a front row seat to the police pursuit, following it for miles in the Metro Chopper.

It all started around 6:45 Thursday morning. Police started chasing the man in Taylor, who was driving a stolen pickup truck out of Monroe. Eventually, Szumanski says police backed off, but the pickup driver kept going.

The man on the run eventually met his fate on Livernois when the driver of the red mini van attempted to make a left turn onto Martin and the vehicles collided.

As the truck flipped, it clipped Jose Hernandez's truck as he was pulling out of the Telway. "I'm fine," he told FOX 2 News.

Witnesses say the woman driving the minivan attempted to make an illegal turn on Martin, but according to police, she is not at fault. The man who died in the crash and was driving the stolen pickup is responsible. Police say because he was speeding, he no longer had the right of way.