Video: Driver rams fleeing car, blocks felon from hitting crowd as cops arrive

By Ann Zaniewski | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Van takes a hit to help end Ferndale police chase A driver pulled his van head on into a car being chased by Ferndale police. Video courtesy Ferndale Police Department

Editor's note: A previous version of this story misidentified the vehicle involved. It was a Chevrolet Impala. This version is correct.

A gutsy citizen helped Ferndale police nab a fleeing suspect by crashing his van into the suspect's car to end a chase and prevent what could have been mayhem in a busy parking lot.

The drama began at 9:30 p.m. Friday when an officer tried to pull over the driver of a Chevrolet Impala heading east on 8 Mile Road near Livernois, according to police. It ended in a nearby shopping center with two banged-up vehicles and two people in custody.

The driver, Kolbe K. Jordan, 26, of New Baltimore, has been arraigned on multiple charges and remains in the Oakland County Jail after failing to post an $85,000 bail bond.

A vivid video shot from the dashboard-mounted camera of a pursuing Ferndale police car shows the high-speed pursuit and dramatic ramming by the good Samaritan, followed by police leaping out of squad cars with guns drawn to yank the fleeing motorist onto the pavement.

An officer was randomly checking license plates when he discovered the Chevrolet's driver was wanted on traffic warrants and had multiple license suspensions, police said. When the officer tried to stop him, the suspect accelerated down 8 Mile Road.

As the man approached Woodward, traffic that was stopped at a red light blocked the intersection, but the Chevy plowed on.

"The suspect drove over the sidewalk, across an open area, and back onto Woodward where he fled south on Woodward at speeds of about 80 m.p.h.," later turning 180 degrees and heading northbound, a release from Ferndale police said.

Police said the suspect drove into a bus terminal near State Fair, then back onto northbound Woodward. As pursuing officers closed in, he turned abruptly east into the parking lot of the Meijer shopping center at the southeast corner of 8 Mile and Woodward. That's when police got unexpected help.

"A man driving his van out of the lot saw the suspect being chased by police into the parking lot," police said. "The man drove his van head-on into the suspect vehicle in order to stop it from fleeing into the parking lot crowded with people. The collision stopped the Chevy and the van ended up against the suspect vehicle driver side door, preventing the suspect from escaping."

Jordan and his passenger were arrested. Officers found 10 bundles of heroin and a loaded handgun with a 30-round magazine in the vehicle, police said. The gun had been reported in Detroit.

Jordan was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, third-degree fleeing and eluding, possession of narcotics and driving while license suspended. According to police, Jordan was on probation at the time for possessing cocaine and a weapons offense, and earlier had served two years and three months of three-year prison sentence for weapons and drug offenses.

The good Samaritan who turned his van into a battering ram is lying low since the incident, Ferndale police Sgt. Baron Brown said. Police got his name and a short statement from him at the scene, but officers quickly dispersed once they had their man, and the van driver drove off with only minor damage to his vehicle.

“We’re trying to get ahold of him — he isn’t answering his phone,” Brown said. Police aren’t releasing the man’s name until he gives the OK.

Although the collision rendered the fleeing Impala undrivable, the van sustained only a cracked headlight and dented front bumper, Brown said.

“I think anybody at this point might have an oops feeling — ‘Did I really do that? Was that the right thing?’ We think the guy’s heart was in the right spot. We think he felt the parking lot was full of people, and he wanted to stop this car before it went into the crowd. He could see all the police cars in pursuit,” Brown said.

“While we don’t recommend doing what he did, we’re not in any way going to vilify him. We’re trying to reach him and let him know he did a good thing, but don’t keep doing it because it’s dangerous.”

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AnnZaniewski. Staff writer Bill Laitner contributed to this report.