After a man died after crashing his carwhile fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Grand Rapids over the weekend, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has directed the Michigan State Police to conduct a probe into the incident, according to the spokesperson Kaylie Hanson.
"Given the circumstances of this incident, the Governor has directed the Michigan State Police to conduct an independent review of the law enforcement actions surrounding this situation in coordination with the Grand Rapids Police Department's investigation," Hanson told the Free Press in an email on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident.
GRPD Police Chief Joseph Trigg requested the Michigan State Police handle the investigation
due to the complexity of the case on Tuesday.
Mario David Coronado Juarez, was killed while 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.
Juarez, the only occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
ICE agents attempted to stop him before the crash and he fled, police said.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids,identified the manas 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.
Scholten's letter to ICE demands a response by Sept. 27 as well as an immediate briefing on the situation.
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: Whitmer orders review after man dies in crash after ICE traffic stop
