A Pontiac man is charged with eight felony counts after he allegedly crashed into a Jeep Cherokee killing one person and severely injuring three others while fleeing from Warren Police.
James Lamar Hudson Jr., 26, is charged with one count of second degree murder; four counts of fleeing a police officer; and three counts of reckless driving causing serious impairment.
Hudson was arraigned in Warren 37th District Court where Judge Michael Chupa set bond at $1 million cash/surety only. If released he must wear a steel cuff GPS tether.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for July 16 and a preliminary exam is scheduled for July 23. Both are scheduled for 8:45 a.m.
It is alleged that on June 29 around 1:34 a.m., Warren patrol officers in a marked vehicle attempted a traffic stop on westbound Eight Mile Road near Blackmar Avenue of three Dodge Chargers traveling at a high rate of speed. One of the Chargers pulled over; the other two fled turning north on Ryan Road.
“We do not have the exact speeds in this case, but looking at the dash-cam video, I would estimate they were going well over 100 mph and putting citizens in danger,” said acting Warren Police Commissioner Charles Rushton during a July 2 press conference. “The way these people were driving, their vehicle was a weapon; it was basically a 5,000-pound bullet driving down Eight Mile.”
Officers attempted to use a spike strip to stop the two fleeing Chargers at the intersection of 10 Mile and Ryan roads, but they circumvented the device and sped west on 10 Mile Road.
As the vehicles approached Dei Street in Hazel Park, the Charger driven by Hudson crashed into a Jeep Cherokee killing 42-year-old Katrina Michael of Warren and seriously injuring the driver. The third Charger fled the scene.
Hudson sustained two broken legs and two passengers from his vehicle were also seriously injured in the crash.
Michael was the mother of two boys, ages 18 and 14.
“I want to emphasize that the suspect in this case made all of the decisions here that led to this tragedy,” said Rushton. “The suspect made a conscious decision to be drag racing on Eight Mile; he made a conscious decision to flee from police and drive in such a reckless manner.”
Rushton said drag racing and speeding is a serious problem in Warren and that officers have a duty to try and stop dangerous and reckless driving. He went on to say every Warren police vehicle is now equipped with a speed detection device or radar in effort to curtail reckless driving issues in the city.
Rushton said the investigation is ongoing and did not rule out the possibility of more arrests in the case.
This is not the first instance of an innocent person losing their life as the result of someone fleeing police, which has caused some to question the validity of high-speed chases.
Rushton said all pursuits are judged on a case-by-case basis and that it is department policy all pursuits are monitored in real time by a shift supervisor or watch commander. Time of day, traffic flow, the crimes related to the pursuit are among the things considered by officers when making a determination to continue or terminate a chase.
“In this case, the judgment was because of the reckless driving of these people they were an immediate danger to the public and that is why the pursuit was allowed to go on,” said Rushton. “In the last month, two of our pursuits that we have terminated led to very serious injuries and crashes.”
Rushton said one incident where Warren police officers made the decision not to continue its chase resulted in a crash on Mound Road.
“We stopped pursuit but the driver continued operating his vehicle in a reckless manner and hit two vehicles injuring himself and two other people,” said Rushton. “He is lucky his injuries were not fatal and he injured two innocent bystanders who were stopped at a red light.”
Another recent chase that was terminated near Seven Mile and Schoenherr roads resulted in a crash eight minutes later that sent a parked car that was struck by the fleeing suspect into a home.
“Even if we terminate the pursuit, it does not mean the person fleeing is going to immediately slow down to driving the speed limit and begin driving in a normal manner,” said Rushton.
He added officers involved in a pursuit and the watch commander who is monitoring the event in real time both have the authority to terminate a chase but that the majority of the time, it is the officers themselves who make that decision.
According to Rushton, there have been 190 pursuits in Warren so far this year despite the fact they are down 25% since last year and 50% over the last two years.