Hit and run suspect caught in Birmingham

A driver who caused a three-car crash on Wednesday, August 30, around 8 p.m. at Quarton and Lakeside roads was captured by Birmingham police after fleeing from the scene and hiding in a backyard.

When officers arrived at the scene of the crash in Birmingham, they reported that the driver’s car had extensive damage, including a hole through the windshield and there was a large amount of blood. Offices searched the area around the crash along with Bloomfield Township Police Department’s K-9 Unit and the Oakland County Sheriff Office’s drone team.

Reportedly, the officers found out that the driver had mental health problems, noting he ran away from a group home in a different city and wasn’t taking his medications. The driver also allegedly fled from a traffic stop in a different community earlier that night, but the community was not identified.

According to Birmingham police, the driver ran through the backyards of homes on Lakeside Road. A witness, living on Redding Road, reported he saw the man run through his yard and called police, who later found him hiding in the bushes around 2:30 a.m. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for medical attention, Birmingham police said in a statement.

The driver was given a ticket for fleeing the scene of a personal injury accident, released to the hospital for medical attention and petitioned for a mental health evaluation, according to police.

Birmingham police thanked the Bloomfield Township Police Department and Oakland County Sheriff's Office in a statement for their “partnership and dedication to public safety.”