A patrol officer from Baroda-Lake Township testified in the Berrien County Trial Court during the trial proceedings against the accused in a fatal crash. The crash took place in February at the end of a 40-mile police chase.

Jajuan Gabriel, 24, of Detroit was driving the vehicle involved in the pursuit. Gabrial was accompanied by Camisha Slayton, 22, of Detriot who sustained critical injuries in the crash and later died at the Kalamazoo Hospital.

In a hearing that took place on Thursday, March 5, Patrol Officer John Hopkins provided his testimony in the case. Hopkins was involved in the long chase that began in the Berrien County and ended in the Van Buren County. According to Hopkins’ statement, he drove at speeds of up to 128 mph at times during the chase, still failing to gain on the accused.

Hopkins further stated that the chase began when he spotted an eastbound speeding car on the I-94. The car was traveling at an estimated 90mph at the time. Gabriel was driving the vehicle. As Hopkins pursued the vehicle and turned on the sirens to signal it to stop, the vehicle began to speed away. Gabriel continued to speed through stop signs, red lights and traffic when he ultimately crashed into a utility pole on the County Road 687 in Van Buren County.

Accident investigators from the Michigan State Police testified that the vehicle hit the pole at a speed of around 53mph. Gabriel faces several charges for the fatal crash, including reckless driving causing death, second-degree murder, operating with suspended license and first-degree fleeting police among others.

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