Friday, August 14, 2009 WASHINGTON: Michigan State Police are investigating a fiery crash that began in Taylor and ended in front of a southwest side restaurant, leaving one man dead. Taylor police were chasing the vehicle about 7 a.m. this morning because it was reported stolen, Taylor police officials said in a press release. Troopers were not involved in the chase but are helping with the investigation and recreating the crash for the probe, Taylor police and Michigan State Police officials said. A Taylor resident called police about 6 a.m. to report the theft, Taylor police said. A patrol unit spotted the vehicle a short time later on Interstate 75 and attempted to stop it. The driver sped away and the officers chased the truck into Detroit, where "our officers eventually terminated the pursuit," according to the release. "The defendant then slowed the vehicle down and officers continued monitoring the vehicle at a safe distance," the release stated. After driving on several surface streets, the suspect drove onto Michigan Avenue, where he sped up after seeing a Michigan State Police cruiser, according to the release. The truck the suspect was driving then hit a minivan trying to turn onto Martin from Michigan Avenue, according to broadcast news video of the incident. After hitting the van, the truck careened into a parked truck and a utility pole before exploding, witnesses and police said. The truck's driver died in the crash, police said. They did not know his identity, other than he appeared to be a white male, police said. The crash happened in front of Telway Hamburgers restaurant at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Martin. Longtime cook Debbie McComas said she heard booms from the crash and when she looked up from her grill, saw the fiery aftermath of the incident from the big front window of the eatery that faces Michigan Avenue. "If it wasn't for that pole and other truck, (the stolen truck) would have gotten us," McComas said. "All I know is God was with us." Debris from the incident was strewn about Michigan Avenue. A drive shaft was blown about 400 feet west of Martin and a rim was about 200 feet away with its tire across the street from it. One pickup was missing its rear axle and the other pickup was on the sidewalk at the intersection. The van was on Martin and its front end was damaged.
BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
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