A resident of 4800 block of Ennismore Drive, Independence Township, awoke about 1:30 a.m., Sept. 15, to the sound of someone breaking into a neighbor’s pickup truck.
She woke her husband, who, when the pickup squealed out of the neighbor’s driveway and sped off into the night, jumped in his own car and gave chase, according to police reports.
Tracking them onto southbound I-75, he called 911 to report their location and broke off pursuit as police arrived.
‘I don’t recommend citizens take the law in their own hands ? (the car thieves) could have had a gun,? said Sgt. Matt Baldes, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Independence Township Substation. ‘But I’m not going to Monday-morning quarterback him.?
Oakland County deputies quickly caught up, while others prepared spike strips down the road.
As deputies approached, they saw the stolen pickup had been joined by a second pickup truck, still on I-75, and the occupants appeared to be talking to each other. Apparently noticing their pursuit, the driver of the stolen vehicle switched off his headlights while the other sped up. Staying with the stolen pickup, deputies, joined by Pontiac police, switched on their lights and sirens, and attempted a stop. The alleged truck thieves sped up to about 100 mph and eluded a set of spike strips, but got in trouble when they entered a construction zone south of Crooks Road.
The pickup struck a construction barrel near Big Beaver, bounced off, over corrected, struck a cement construction wall, spun around a few times, struck the wall again, then came to rest. Neither occupant was seriously injured.
The suspects, both 17-year-old Detroit residents, were arrested by Pontiac police without further incident.