DETROIT (WXYZ) – “They weren’t running from police and we weren’t chasing them,” Detroit Police Chief James White said of the fatal crash that some claimed happened on the city’s east side Saturday The morning of the police chase resulted. ,
Relatives of 22-year-old Jalen McWilliams were adamant that police were involved in the pursuit of the Dodge Durango where he was a passenger. And some people who saw officers arrive at the crash site relatively quickly also thought it was a chase.
But, on police dash cam video shared with 7 Action News, you can see how some of the incidents happened.
The video shows a unit traveling in one direction on Harper when a white Dodge Durango traveling in the opposite direction appears to be speeding by.
The SUV turns onto a side street until the two officers make a U-turn at a marked unit. Police also turned onto a side road and began searching for the vehicle which was estimated to be traveling at approximately 60 miles per hour.
After the officers are on a side street, they take another turn to go into the area the SUV was headed. As they turn east, there is smoke in the distance. Officers go about a dozen blocks to find the white Durango hit by the tree.
Citizens joined police in trying to help crash victims out of a vehicle that was smoking and subsequently caught fire as the doors were locked.
The officers pulled out a young man sitting in the back seat by breaking a lot of glass.
At one point, a woman who lives nearby appears in the police video and can be seen wielding an ax to help break the glass.
He told the officers to step aside as he smashed the rear window with an axe.
Chief White said, “She was also a hero, who risked her life to save those people.” “And, unfortunately, not one passenger made it, but three did.”
Brenda told 7 Action News, “I’m not a hero. I was just raised that way.” “If someone is in trouble, whether you know them or not, you should help them.”
