Whitmer: Michigan to review ICE vehicle pursuit that resulted in fatal crash

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) directed Michigan State Police to launch a probe into a vehicle pursuit involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Grand Rapids on Sunday, before the other vehicle crashed and killed the driver.

“Given the circumstances of this incident, the governor has directed the Michigan State Police to conduct an independent review of the law enforcement actions surrounding this situation in coordination with the Grand Rapids Police Department’s investigation,” Whitmer spokesperson Kaylie Hanson told The Hill on Thursday.

The Detroit Free Press first reported about Whitmer’s directive to Michigan State Police on Thursday.

Mario David Coronado Juarez, who was alone in the vehicle, was killed in a crash around 7:10 a.m. EDT while driving southwest toward Century Avenue and McKendrick Street before his vehicle struck a tree and caught fire, the outlet reported. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Hill has reached out to the Grand Rapids Police Department for comment.

“Preliminary information indicates at some point prior to the crash Sunday morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel attempted to stop the involved vehicle and the driver fled,” police said in a statement to The Washington Post .

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told The Hill that ICE officers tried to stop a “known criminal illegal alien with multiple alcohol-related driving offenses” allegedly wanted for similar offenses in Guatemala. U.S. Border Patrol deported Coronado Juarez in 2021, but he reentered the country.

“As officers attempted the stop to confirm the identity of the driver, the driver of the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. In the interest of public safety, ICE officers immediately discontinued the enforcement action,” the DHS spokesperson said. “A short time later, officers saw smoke nearly half a mile from the attempted stop and discovered the vehicle had crashed into a tree and caught fire.”

They added that ICE officers attempted to render aid to Coronado Juarez and extinguish the fire before Grand Rapids police and firefighters arrived.

“Officials also estimated that the suspect’s vehicle was traveling well over 100 miles per hour when the crash occurred,” the spokesperson said.

Along with Whitmer, Grand Rapids Police Chief Joseph Trigg also called for Michigan State Police to conduct an independent investigation, the Post reported.

Coronado Juarez was married and had three young children, organizers with the immigrant rights group Movimiento Cosecha Grand Rapids said in a video posted by MLive , a Michigan-based Advance Local news affiliate.

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) sent a letter to acting ICE Director David Venturella demanding answers in connection with the crash.

“No traffic stop should end with a fatality,” Scholten wrote. “Something went wrong, and we need to know what and how. I have sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanding immediate answers about what happened and a transparent investigation into facts we don’t yet know, so that we can prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

ICE has faced months of mounting criticism after a series of incidents, including the death of Minneapolis resident Renee Good during an interaction with the agency in January. Her mother, Donna Ganger, said Tuesday she voted for President Trump “under the impression that these agents” protected U.S. citizens like her daughter.

Earlier this week, ICE officers operating in Evanston, Ill., mistook a man “who resembled the target,” before the man said he was a U.S. citizen during a confrontation with the officers. ICE officers left the area after protesters appeared, fearing “they would be attacked,” according to Evanston police.