HOLLAND, Mich. — Officers say an unborn child is dead after the driver of a stolen vehicle ran a stop sign while fleeing police and crashed into a minivan in Ottawa County.
The Holland Department of Public Safety says it all started around 3 a.m. Wednesday when an officer saw a 2018 Nissan Versa illegally parked along E 15th Street.
The department says an officer approached the vehicle to issue a parking citation but discovered the vehicle was occupied. According to police, the officer also noticed the ignition lock cylinder was damaged and the license plate on the Nissan was actually registered to a Chevy vehicle.
When the officer asked the man to step out of the vehicle, the driver took off.
Police say they attempted to pursue the car but the driver turned the headlights off and ran several stop signs.
The department says they later determined the car had been reported stolen out of Kalamazoo.
Several hours later, around 8:15 a.m., an officer spotted the car on 15th Street and attempted to pull the driver over. Police say they believe the suspect saw the police cruiser and quickly accelerated.
Officers say the driver ran a stop sign at Central and then at River. When the car entered River Avenue, it hit a 2011 Dodge Caravan.
The suspect, a 21-year-old Kalamazoo man, was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries before being released into police custody and taken to the Ottawa County Jail.
A pregnant 17-year-old from Holland was in the front seat of the car. She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and her unborn child died as a result of the crash.
Holland police say a 16-year-old girl from Holland was in the back seat. She was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries.
The driver of the minivan, a 35-year-old man from Fennville, was not hurt.
