Teens lead police on high speed chase

By Noah Johnson

njohnson@dailypress.net

MANISTIQUE – Three teenagers from Schoolcraft County led law enforcement on a high-speed chase on Wednesday.

According to a press release from Manistique Public Safety, an officer observed a passenger vehicle traveling eastbound on US Highway 2 near Lakeshore BP without its lights on at approximately 3:21 a.m.

The officer began to follow the vehicle, which was traveling at a speed well below the posted limit.

The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle by activating the emergency lights.

The suspect refused to stop and then turned onto Arbutus Avenue, increased his speed, and ignored a stop sign at the intersection of Arbutus Avenue and Range Street.

The officer activated the sirens to alert other vehicles and pedestrians in the area to the unsafe situation.

The suspect continued east on Arbutus Avenue before turning north on US Highway 2.

The officer radioed for assistance because the driver refused to pull over. The suspect then increased their speed to over 100 mph before exiting the city.

A Sault Tribe Police Department Officer was responding from the east of Manistique and made visual contact with the suspect and the public safety unit as they approached the Tannery Road intersection.

The suspect was driving directly towards the Sault Tribe officer before it suddenly veered to the south in an attempt to turn onto Tannery Road.

The suspect left the roadway and crashed, coming to a stop roughly 115 feet off the paved road. Police observed multiple people exit the vehicle, and immediately, one male and one female were detained.

The driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot.

A short time later, another unit from Manistique Public Safety arrived along with two troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP)

After securing the scene, Manistique Public Safety and the Manistique Volunteer Fire Department were paged regarding smoke coming from the crashed suspect’s vehicle.

Officials then determined that the two individuals detained sustained minor injuries and called Manistique EMS.

Information gathered by the two detained passengers helped identify the suspect driver who fled on foot.

Manistique EMS transported the two passengers to Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Units from MSP, Manistique Public Safety, and the Sault Tribe Police Department began searching for the driver.

Shortly after 6 a.m., the suspect was taken into custody on Tannery Road after police received a call from a Manistique Volunteer firefighter who was clearing from the original fire call.

The initial investigation identified the driver suspect as a 15-year-old male resident of Manistique, and the two passengers were 14-year-old residents of Schoolcraft County.

The vehicle in question was taken by the suspect driver without the owner’s permission.

Manistique Public Safety was assisted by the Sault Tribe Police Department, MSP, Manistique EMS, and the Manistique Volunteer Fire Department.

Public safety officials state that the investigation is still ongoing, and no further details will be released at this time.