Serial Drunk Driver Arrested After Slamming Into Cop Car, High-Speed Chase
HARRISON TWP. (WWJ) - Police say a 36-year-old Troy man with four previous convictions for drunk driving-related offenses was arrested after he purposely hit a sheriff's patrol cruiser, sparking a chase that exceeded speeds of 100 miles per hour.
The incident unfolded just after 6 p.m. Sunday when a Macomb County Sheriff's Deputy stopped a Ford pickup truck on North River Road near I-94 in Harrison Township. After talking with the driver, Gary Karas, the deputy sensed that he might be intoxicated and asked the man to step out of the vehicle.
Instead of complying with the deputy's instructions, police said Karas "threw his car into reverse and purposely backed into the sheriff patrol car." Karas then fled the scene at a high-rate of speed, drove across a lawn and entered westbound I-94. Police said Karas was travelling at speeds over 100 MPH with the patrol vehicle hot on his tail.
Karas eventually exited the freeway at Metropolitan Parkway, police said, driving through a construction zone before he turned southbound onto Union Lake. At that point, Karas crashed into a second patrol car that was staged at the intersection, disabling his truck and ending the pursuit.
Karas was arrested after struggling with deputies. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries before being transported to the Macomb County Jail.
Karas was given a $100,000 bond at an interim bond hearing on Monday. He's expected to be formally arraigned Tuesday on several charges, including felonious assault with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, operating while impaired -- third offense, and resisting and obstructing.
