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Brief police chase ends in crash in parking lot

Posted at 5:50 PM, Jun 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-04 05:14:02-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A brief police chase ended in a crash in a parking lot on the city's northwest side Saturday afternoon.

Michigan State Police troopers were briefly in pursuit of a vehicle before it crashed shortly before 4:30 p.m. in a parking lot near Leonard and Seward Streets NW.

Authorities say Grand Rapids police attempted to stop the vehicle earlier in the day in the same area, but the driver didn't stop.

A state police trooper got involved a short time later after spotting the vehicle in question driving on Bridge Street. When the trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver again took off, according to authorities on scene.

FOX 17's Michael Martin

The short chase ended in a crash in the parking lot of a shopping center on Leonard Street.

The driver was arrested.

Eiler Cardoso, an employee at the nearby AutoZone, said he saw the car "fly by" the storefront.

"I was just standing there waiting for a customer," he told FOX 17. "And I just saw him hit the speed bump, get some air, and then fly over here, and then I heard a loud bang."

Witnesses on scene say the driver smashed into at least one other vehicle before coming to a complete stop in the parking lot.