Suspect ejected after crashing during police pursuit, blocking westbound I-94

The Brief

• An early-morning police pursuit ended in a crash on the highway in metro Detroit

• Sterling Heights police confirmed a police pursuit took place Monday morning

• The crash closed westbound I-94 at 10 Mile

(FOX 2) - A police pursuit early Monday morning led to a crash on I-94.

The violent crash left a vehicle totaled and its driver - the suspect who fled police - in critical condition.

What we know

All lanes of westbound I-94 became blocked Monday morning after a police pursuit that started in Sterling Heights ended in a violent crash on the highway.

The crash happened near Nine Mile, leading to massive backups for everyone heading west into the city.

The pursuit began at 3:15 a.m. when Sterling Heights police tried pulling over a black Dodge Charger. It instead sped away, leading to the chase.

The attempted traffic stop was due to a stolen car, according to Sterling Heights police. The chase was led through several communities before ending on the highway.

The driver was ejected after crashing, and is listed in critical condition.

What we don't know

While police said the chase was due to a stolen vehicle, they would not go into details while the investigation continues.

The driver was identified as a 27-year-old man out of Detroit. He does have a criminal history, but no other identifying information was available.

Crews provided no timetable when the crash would be cleared and travel could resume.

What they're saying

A Sterling Heights police captain characterized the incident as what happens when they try to catch bad people.

"The suspect doesn't care, they're not caring about anybody's commute, he's not caring about any of the safety of anybody else," said. Capt. Mario Bastianelli. "They're fleeing at high speeds, obviously going through multiple jurisdictions - there's no care, he just wants to get away and evade police."