Monroe woman dies in broadside collision
3/27/2013MONROE — A car chase led to the death of a Monroe resident whose vehicle was struck broadside as she was exiting a grocery store parking lot on Tuesday.
The victim was identified as Diana Cupp, 59.
A police officer at the intersection of West Front and Toledo streets saw a pickup truck traveling “at an excessively high rate of speed and driving recklessly,” investigators said.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver ran a red light at South Monroe and Jones streets and crashed into the passenger’s side of Ms. Cupp’s sport utility vehicle as she was driving out of the Kroger parking lot, authorities said.
Monroe Police Sgt. Richard Ohanesian said the officer who spotted the driver’s erratic behavior said there was a two-minute window from the time the chase started until the vehicles crashed, a distance of “maybe just over a mile.”
The accident, reported at 12:17 p.m., was being investigated by city police and the Michigan State Police.
The fugitive driver, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital.
“I don't know if he’s still in the hospital or in the county jail,” Sergeant Ohanesian said. “If he’s not at the hospital, he’s probably under arrest.”
A female passenger in the pickup was questioned, he said.
“It appears that she's been released, [with] possibly no involvement in this,” he said.
The sergeant said charges against the suspect were pending, but he could not comment on the type.