Two children were
killed in Detroit Wednesday and three other kids were injured when a driver
allegedly hit them with a car while fleeing police, authorities said.
Detroit Police Chief
James Craig said the police pursuit began at around 8 p.m. and only lasted
about 75 seconds before the Chevrolet Camaro fatally struck the two children
and then hit three other kids and an adult.
"The speed was
such that once the officers initiated their overhead lights, they lost sight of
this vehicle because of the speed," Craig told reporters. "What they
did see was a plume of smoke; they believed it was an accident. … Once they
responded to that location, they saw the two children lying in the
street."
Officers tried to
render aid to the two children but the kids, identified by NBC station WDIV as
Michael Angelo Jackson, 7, and Makiah Jackson, 3, were unresponsive and they
were rushed to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Three other children
and an adult were struck by the Camaro and were being treated at an area
hospital for serious injuries. Both suspects inside the car were in custody,
authorities told the station.
The chase began when
officers spotted a handgun inside the car, police told WDIV.
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2 kids killed, 4
others injured by suspect fleeing from Detroit PD on city's east side
3 kids critically
injured, being treated at local hospital
JUNE 24, 2015
DETROIT, MI
Police say two
children, ages 3 and 7, were killed and three more children, ages 3, 5 and 7,
were critically injured Wednesday night when they were hit by a suspect fleeing
police in a Camaro on Nottingham Road near Warren Avenue on Detroit's east
side.
A 23-year-old woman
was also injured when she was hit by the Camaro.
Police Chief James
Craig said officers saw the occupants of a 'late model Camaro' at the corner of
Chatsworth Street and Cornwall Street at around 8 p.m. Officers say one of the
suspects had a handgun. When they saw the officers, the suspects drove off at a
high speed, getting up to 70 or 80 mph.
Officers turned on
the overhead lights in the squad car, but the Camaro didn't stop.
"At some point
during the very brief pursuit, two children were struck by the suspect's
vehicle," Craig said. "They were pronounced deceased at the
hospital."
The two kids who
were hit were siblings Michael Angelo Jackson, 7, and Makiah Jackson, 3. They
are pictured above.
Craig said the
Camaro then hit three other children and an adult at the spot where the chase
ended, which was in the 5200 block of Nottingham Road.
The car chase lasted
about 1 minute and 15 seconds. Craig said the Camaro was going so fast that
officers lost sight of it during the chase. After they lost sight of the
Camaro, officers saw a plume of smoke and responded to that scene.
When they arrived,
officers saw two kids laying in the street and tried to resuscitate them. When
the kids didn't respond, they were taken to the hospital in the police car.
"My
understanding, right now, is that there was initial contact with the first two
children, and then the Camaro continued, and then struck four additional
people: three more children and an adult," Craig said.
All six victims were
taken to St. John Hospital by police.
Both suspects from
the Camaro are in custody, authorities say. One of the suspects broke an arm
during the incident.
Police are unsure
whether or not the Camaro went up onto the sidewalk when it hit the children.
They are continuing to investigate the incident.
The family of the
kids who died has setup a GoFundMe account to raise money for funeral expenses.
More information can be found here: gofundme.com/m-mcare
Source: http://www.clickondetroit.com