A high-speed vehicle pursuit that began in Monroe County early Thursday morning ended with a woman in custody after she struck a deputy’s patrol vehicle and continued driving on deflated tires into the City of Flat Rock, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Troy Goodnough said the incident began around 12:59 a.m. on Jan. 8, when Monroe County Central Dispatch was notified that Flat Rock police were pursuing a dark green Ford Explorer southbound on North Telegraph Road from the county line. Flat Rock officers terminated their pursuit shortly after entering Monroe County, and sheriff’s deputies began checking the area for the vehicle.
At approximately 1:08 a.m., Deputy Austin Graham located the Explorer traveling northbound on North Telegraph Road near Sigler Road after it had turned around. When the deputy attempted a traffic stop, the driver fled, prompting a renewed pursuit.
Authorities said the suspect drove erratically across all four lanes of traffic on North Telegraph Road, with speeds ranging from 20 MPH to 70 MPH. Near South Huron River Drive at the county line, assisting Deputy Jayston Dye deployed stop sticks, successfully deflating multiple tires. Despite the damage, the vehicle continued northbound into Flat Rock.
The pursuit escalated when the driver made a sudden U-turn near Huron River Drive and traveled southbound, striking assisting Deputy Trevor Tomkinson’s patrol vehicle head-on. The suspect then turned around again and continued northbound, driving across multiple lanes of traffic on the vehicle’s rims.
The chase ended when the Explorer left the roadway, traveled through several business parking lots, and came to rest in the parking lot of a car wash in the 26700 block of North Telegraph Road. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident.
The driver was identified as a 29-year-old woman from Lincoln Park. She was arrested on multiple charges, including fleeing and eluding, resisting and obstructing, felonious assault on a police officer, operating under the influence of drugs, possession of methamphetamine, and driving while license suspended. Her name is being withheld pending formal arraignment in 1st District Court.
Officers from the Flat Rock Police Department and South Rockwood Police Department assisted in the apprehension. The investigation remains ongoing and is being handled by Deputy Austin Graham of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Uniformed Services Division. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 734-240-7758.
- NMD Staff
Staff@NewMediaDetroit.com