KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Labor Day weekend has gotten off to a terrible start in Kalamazoo County as five people were killed early this morning when a car spotted flying down East Main Street slammed into a tree a quarter mile east of Sprinkle and burst into flames.
A Kalamazoo Township police officer parked along East Main said the blue Dodge Charger blew by him at 100 mph at about 12:45 this morning.
He initially began a chase but shut down when the car disappeared around a curve some distance away. Kalamazoo Township has quickly released a video from the dashcam in the officer’s car to dispel rumors that the victims died during a high speed chase with police.
After calling the speeding car into dispatch, the officer decided to follow the route the Dodge took, concerned they would crash and discovered the burning wreck a few minutes later, just over the line in Comstock Township.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas describes the scene as gruesome, saying it will require autopsies to identify the victims. He says the bodies were all burned well beyond recognition, and it was initially impossible for officers to determine how many were in the car.
Matayas says it’s obvious the car was still going at a rapid clip when it crashed. He says there are skid marks for some distance and the car sheared off a tree that was nearly 2 feet in diameter before coming to a stop.
He believes everyone in the car died on impact.
