PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – What started out an an apparent robbery at the Walmart in Paw Paw ended in a crash and the apprehension of five juveniles in Portage Monday evening.
Around 6:15 p.m. deputies with the van Buren County Sheriff’s Office received a ‘Be On the Lookout’ dispatch for suspects in a robbery which had just occurred at the Walmart in Paw Paw. A subject was following the suspect vehicle and reported the license plate of the vehicle to dispatchers. According to a release from the sheriff’s office, the license plate was run and it was discovered that the vehicle was reported stolen.
The suspect vehicle was then located by deputies on Red Arrow Highway near 39th St in Paw Paw Township. Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle and the vehicle fled. Deputies pursued the vehicle, which went westbound into Lawrence village, before turning eastbound on to I-94. Police attempted to end the pursuit by deploying stop-sticks but the vehicle was able to avoid them.
Deputies pursued the vehicle eastbound on I-94 for over 20 miles, reaching speeds of around 110 mph at times. The vehicle attempted to exit I-94 at the Westnedge Avenue exit in Portage when it ran the red light and collided with a motorist travelling on Westnedge. The motorist’s vehicle immediately caught fire but responding police were able to extinguish the fire.
Several of the occupants of the suspect vehicle, including the driver, then fled on foot. They were all apprehended after short foot chases.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit also assisted in apprehending one of the occupants who was hiding near the crash scene.
All five occupants of the car are juveniles. The 14-year-old suspect driver received medical treatment and was later taken to the Kalamazoo Juvenile Detention Center on
numerous charges.
Additional charges will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office at a later time for other occupants in the vehicle.
The motorist who was struck was transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Three occupants in the suspect vehicle were also transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital for minor injuries.
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