DETROIT (WWJ) - State police said the victim of an alleged hit-and-run incident on I-94 in Detroit that led to her firing shots at her aggressor may not actually be the victim -- but the suspect.
It was an investigation that began like any other, Michigan State Police said, after the incident was reported on westbound I-94 in Detroit late Friday evening, but as they continued to work the case, they quickly discovered not all was as it seemed.
"The truth will set you free," First Lt. Mike Shaw with MSP told WWJ's Jon Hewitt.
According to Shaw, troopers were made aware of the altercation on the freeway near I-75 just before 11 p.m. when a 44-year-old woman from St. Clair Shores called 911 and identified herself as the victim of a hit-and-run that involved shots fired.
The woman told troopers that she was driving west on I-94 when she was rear-ended by an unknown vehicle. When both vehicles pulled over to the side of the freeway, the woman said she tried to speak with the driver when they started to drive toward her.
The caller stated she has a valid CPL and fired her weapon once at the vehicle out of concern of her safety.
But when troopers were able to track down the other driver, a 24-year-old Detroit woman, and got her side of the story, things didn't match up.
"It seems to be that anything that the caller told us in that initial 911 call, we're not able to prove," Shaw said.
In fact, Shaw said that there was no evidence of damage to the 24-year-old woman's car that would be consistent with a rear-end crash that the 911 caller reported.
But they did find one bullet hole.
"It's going to be interesting to see as we kind of work our way through this investigation exactly what started it," Shaw told Hewitt. "And here's the rough point about the whole thing, here's a CPL holder that, you know, is being trusted to carry this gun with them wherever they go and for whatever reason decided to fire a shot, on freeway or somewhere else, and striking a vehicle."
Shaw said detectives so far believe the 911 report was false and the gun was used in "road rage."
The St. Clair Shores woman could face charges in related to the incident for making a false police report and more. Shaw said the case is currently under review with local prosecutors.