A car theft spree that began before dawn Friday in an Ada Township subdivision ended with two crashes on one of West Michigan's trickiest highway curves and a teenage suspect leaping off a downtown bridge into the Grand River to escape police. Kent County Sheriff's deputies were called around 3 a.m. to the Adaridge and Adapointe subdivision after a resident reported a vehicle stolen, kicking off a chase that stretched across multiple jurisdictions before it was over.
Deputies received the initial report at roughly 3 a.m. Friday, according to WGRD, with four stolen vehicles ultimately converging in the Ada neighborhood before speeding off together. As they fled the subdivision, a deputy deployed spike strips at the exit, flattening the tires on three of the four vehicles, according to FOX 17 West Michigan News.
Cemetery Headstones Damaged During the Chase
One of the four stolen vehicles veered through the historic Ada Cemetery during the pursuit, knocking over and damaging several headstones before it was abandoned on the grounds, according to WZZM-TV. The remaining vehicles pushed west on Fulton Street toward I-96 and I-196 before reaching US-131 in downtown Grand Rapids, the station reports. A separate vehicle from the group was found parked on I-196 near Fuller Avenue, per FOX 17's account of the chase.
Two of the stolen vehicles ultimately crashed in the S-Curve section of US-131 downtown, a stretch of highway known as one of the most heavily traveled and tightest bends in West Michigan, carrying major commuter traffic through the city core, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Two suspects tried to run on foot after the crash, FOX 17 reports, and one was arrested quickly.
Teen Jumps From Sixth Street Bridge Into the River
The second suspect kept running, fleeing responding officers and police K9 units before leaping off the Sixth Street Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids into the Grand River, according to WZZM-TV and WGRD's reporting. He swam to a rock in the middle of the river, where Grand Rapids Fire Department personnel deployed a rescue boat to pull him to safety, per the station's report.
Both suspects taken into custody are juveniles, and both were transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation before being booked into the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center, the outlet notes. The response to the pursuit and river search drew six public safety agencies working alongside the Kent County Sheriff's Office, including the Grand Rapids Police Department, Grand Rapids Fire Department, Wyoming Police Department, East Grand Rapids Department of Public Safety, Walker Police Department and Michigan State Police, according to a bulletin from the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
Stolen Vehicles Traced Across West Michigan
Investigators determined that the four stolen vehicles had been taken overnight from multiple communities across West Michigan before converging in the Ada neighborhood, the sheriff's office said in its bulletin. One of the vehicles had been reported stolen from the owner's driveway, according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office. The investigation remains ongoing, and deputies are working to track down any remaining suspects connected to the thefts, FOX 17 reports.
Depending on what investigators establish about intent, Michigan law treats unauthorized vehicle takings differently. Unlawfully driving away an automobile is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, while taking a vehicle without authority but without intent to permanently deprive the owner of it — commonly known as joyriding — is a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years, according to the Michigan Legislature. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kent County Sheriff's Department at (616) 632-6125, or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
