Ferndale Police Search for Driver of Stolen Jeep

are looking for the driver of a stolen Jeep Liberty who led police on a high-speech chase and ultimately crashed into a building on Seven Mile in Detroit on Monday morning.

According to a statement from Ferndale Police, an officer was patrolling the area of West Eight Mile Road and Laprairie around 12:52 a.m. when he saw a black Jeep Liberty approaching Eight Mile. The driver of the Jeep drove over the center median and drove east on Eight Mile and south on Woodward, where the officer caught up to the car.

The vehicle was reported as stolen out of Detroit on Feb. 12. A high-speed chase involving driving against traffic ensued until the vehicle crashed into 6016 Seven Mile in Detroit.

Five subjects fled from the vehicle. Two juveniles and a 17-year-old were arrested, all of whom have since been released.

A warrant is being sought for the arrest of the person believed to have been the  driver, Terrance William Thomas, 18, of Detroit, who is still at large.

“It appears the occupants were out looking to steal another vehicle when they were caught,” Ferndale Police Lt. Bill Wilson said in a statement about the incident.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Thomas is asked to call Ferndale Police at 248-541-3650 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

Police arrest parole absconder

In a separate incident on Sunday, Ferndale Police arrested a parole absconder who ran from police after he was stopped for speeding on Eight Mile near Allen.

Police said in a statement that the 27-year-old Detroit resident provided the false name of Erik Thomas and fled the scene when the officer asked him to exit the vehicle.

The officer pursued the vehicle into Detroit where he man left the vehicle. He was arrested on Norfolk in Detroit after a foot chase. Police found that he had a suspended driver’s license and has been convicted of driving on a suspended license previously. He is also a parole absconder from the Lansing Tether Unit for Dangerous Drugs, police said in a statement.

He is expected to be arraigned today with a felony charge of second-degree fleeing and eluding police, and driving on a suspended license, police said.