By Tanya Terry
A backseat passenger was pronounced dead on the scene after a stolen car crashed into an MTA Flint bus this week.
According to the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office, a resident of Perry, Michigan was meeting up with three young men from the Detroit area. The Perry man had listed his 2009 Pontiac G8 as being for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
The Detroit men, who were all between 18 and 21 years old, pulled a gun out on the Perry man. The man was punched in the face and the Detroit men stole the vehicle.
Troopers who were patrolling stopped the vehicle around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, on eastbound I-69, near Moorish Road. They attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver fled. After an approximately three-minute chase, the troopers ended the chase after determining the road conditions were unsafe.
The suspects continued driving east on I-69, until exiting at Saginaw Street.
At around 5:40 p.m., the suspects crashed the stolen vehicle into the front of an MTA bus.
An 18-year-old in the back seat of the car was declared dead on the scene, and a 21-year-old driver was quickly transported to Hurley Medical Center in critical condition. An 18-year-old passenger in the car received treatment for minor injuries, and was later transferred to the Shiawassee County Jail.
The driver and a passenger on the MTA bus were also hospitalized. Their injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening.