A man is dead after crashing his car while fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Grand Rapids over the weekend, according to the Grand Rapids Police Department.
GRPD says the man was driving southwest near Century Avenue and McKendrick Street on Sunday, Sept. 20, at approximately 7:10 a.m. when his vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire.
The driver of the vehicle, the only occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene.
ICE agents attempted to stop him before the crash and he fled, police said.
GRPD Police Chief Joseph Trigg said he is requesting the Michigan State Police handle the investigation due to the complexity of the case.
"MSP, under the direction of the governor and attorney general, may be in a better position to determine the timeframe
and any other potentially relevant circumstances, and any next steps that may be appropriate," Trigg said in a statement.
GRPD said it had no involvement or knowledge of this situation prior to being called to the crash site.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, identified the man as Mario David Coronado Juarez and sent a letter to David Venturella, the acting director of ICE, demanding answers.
“No traffic stop should end with a fatality. Something went wrong, and we need to know what and how. I have sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanding immediate answers about what happened and a transparent investigation into facts we don't yet know, so that we can prevent something like this from ever happening again," Scholten said in a statement.
"The purpose of federal law enforcement is to make our communities safer. We must make sure that is happening. I will continue to monitor this situation closely and remain in close contact with federal and local law enforcement until our community gets the answers we deserve."
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Man dead after fleeing ICE agents in Grand Rapids
