Local News

Driver Who Fled Police Faces Key Hearing In Deaths Of 2 Kids

July 13, 2015 / 6:46 AM EDT / CBS Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A man charged with murder in the deaths of two Detroit children during a high-speed chase with police faces a key court hearing.

Court records say Lorenzo Harris is due in a Detroit courtroom Monday for a hearing to determine if the case goes to trial.

In June, investigators said Harris was driving 95 miles an hour when he hit and killed a six-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister. Other children hurt in the incident were last reported in stable condition.

At a stoplight, police say, two officers spotted the red Camaro with two men inside — one of them brandished a handgun. Officers activated their siren and attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the suspects took off and a chase ensued — reaching speeds of up to 95 per hour on residential streets, according to police.

A 6-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister were hit by a Chevrolet Camaro while playing June 24. Three other children and a woman were hurt when the car hit a porch. Besides second-degree murder, the 29-year-old is charged with fleeing police and other crimes.

Records show that Harris went to prison in 2006 for possession of methamphetamine and was denied parole later that year. Harris was eventually paroled in 2007 before he was arrested that November on a weapons offense. He returned to prison in 2008 and was denied parole three more times – in 2008, 2011 and 2012 – before being paroled in 2013, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. Harris was released to the public on February 25, 2014 and absconded parole the very next day.

Detroit police Chief James Craig told The Detroit News on Friday that a police investigation is ongoing into whether officers involved followed protocols.

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