A motorcyclist is dead after fleeing a Wyandotte police traffic stop early Friday, leading officers on a high-speed chase that ended in a fatal crash in Riverview. The rider topped 100 mph and drove into oncoming traffic before losing control near railroad tracks on West Jefferson, close to Payne Street.
Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton said one of his officers tried to pull the motorcyclist over, but the rider took off instead. “One of our officers did try to stop that motorcyclist. He fled, it was a high-speed pursuit,” Hamilton said, according to FOX 2 Detroit. The outlet reports the pursuit, during which the motorcyclist hit speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, ended in the crash in Riverview, with Hamilton adding that the suspect was driving into oncoming traffic at the time.
The crash scene was near the railroad tracks on West Jefferson in the 18200 block, close to Payne Street, per the same report. The driver was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died, according to ClickOnDetroit.
Identity Still Unknown, Investigation Ongoing
As of Friday, police had not released the identity of the motorcyclist. ClickOnDetroit reports the motorcycle did not have a license plate. Michigan State Police are investigating the crash, and that investigation remains ongoing, the station notes.
Under Michigan law, a driver who gets a lawful visual or audible signal from a police officer to stop is barred from willfully refusing to comply by speeding up, cutting their lights, or otherwise trying to flee or elude, according to the Michigan Legislature. Separately, state law spells out that officers in authorized emergency vehicles pursuing or apprehending a suspected violator may exercise certain driving privileges during a chase, subject to conditions set out in that same section of the vehicle code, per the Michigan Legislature.
Chief Has Pushed for Tougher Penalties
Friday's crash lands amid a broader push from Hamilton for stiffer consequences for drivers who run from police. Wyandotte recorded 44 high-speed chases in 2022 and 45 in 2023, with 41 logged in 2024 with more than two months still left in that year, according to WXYZ. Hamilton has said those pursuit numbers have been climbing since the department started tracking them in 2022, the station reports.
Deputy Chief Hamilton has also described Wyandotte pursuits as up nearly 900% over three years, according to CBS News Detroit. That outlet's reporting on the department's push for harsher penalties also cited cases like that of Ronald Mancos, a convicted felon with eight active warrants who was arrested for burglary in September and received a $50 bond, and Jeffrey Heim, an Ohio resident with an active Michigan warrant who was given a $100 bond after police found him with a firearm in October.
Other recent Wyandotte pursuits illustrate the pattern Hamilton has pointed to. WXYZ reported that 29-year-old Alfredo Louis Ramos led police on an 18-minute chase through five cities in October 2024. CBS News Detroit also described a separate chase that spanned Wyandotte and Lincoln Park before ending in downtown Detroit, where the driver crashed into a pole.
No further details on Friday's crash, including the motorcyclist's identity, had been released as the investigation continued.
