Westbound I-94 near 9 Mile in St. Clair Shores was closed Monday morning after a police chase initially involving a stolen vehicle ended in a crash. 

Sterling Heights Police Captain Mario Bastianelli says officers responded to a call about a possible stolen vehicle in the Metro Parkway and Dequindre Road area around 3:15 a.m. Monday.

Bastianelli says officers could not find the stolen vehicle. As police were checking the area, they saw a suspicious vehicle — a black Dodge Charger — that caught their attention. Bastianelli says the Charger appeared to attempt to elude officers. 

When officers attempted a traffic stop on the Charger, the vehicle sped off, and a chase ensued. 

Police pursued Charger throughout Warren, and onto eastbound I-696 and then southbound I-94, where the vehicle crashed near the 9 Mile exit. 

Police say the driver, a 27-year-old Detroit man, was ejected from the vehicle and seriously injured. They were taken to an area hospital in critical condition. 

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Sterling Heights police at 586-446-2825.