Car hit 114 mph before fatal police pursuit crash, throwing driver from fiery wreck

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office says a man was killed when he crashed while leading a deputy on a chase.

It happened around 1:15 a.m. Feb. 10 on the 66000 block of Country Road 681, near 67th Avenue, in Lawrence Township, according to a Tuesday release from the sheriff’s office. Deputies say they did not immediately release information about the crash because they could not identify the driver at first.

A deputy was on the 62000 block of Territorial Road, near 62nd Street, in Keeler Township when they saw an eastbound vehicle going over the speed limit, according to the release. Dashboard cam video released by the sheriff’s department shows the deputy make a U-turn to follow the car.

Near the intersection of Territorial Road and County Road 681, the deputy caught up to the car. The dashcam video shows that by then, the cruiser’s lights were flashing. Deputies say the car ran a stop sign and did not have a registration plate displayed, the sheriff’s office says.

The vehicle turned north onto County Road 681 and sped up, the sheriff’s department said. The deputy flipped on the cruiser’s sirens in addition to the lights, the video shows. The video shows the driver didn’t stop and instead kept accelerating.

Deputies say the driver headed north, with the deputy in pursuit. The chase lasted about 3.5 miles and reached speeds of nearly 100 mph, according to the sheriff’s office.

As the vehicle went over a hill on County Road 681, the deputy couldn’t see it anymore. By the time the cruiser crested the same hill, the car had hit a tree and then burst into flames, the video shows.

Deputies say the driver, 27-year-old Jose G Gonzalez Gutierrez from Hartford, Michigan, and Elkhart, Indiana, was ejected and killed.

The video shows it was less than three minutes between when the cruiser caught up with the car at the intersection and the crash. Deputies believe speed and alcohol were involved.