Putnam Township, Michigan, was rocked on Thursday afternoon when a dramatic multi-vehicle collision during a high-speed police pursuit claimed the life of 28-year-old Gmo Person of Lansing.
On March 26, 2026, just before noon, a Livingston County sheriff’s officer noticed a stolen 2024 Range Rover heading east on Interstate 96 close to Mason Road. Days earlier, the SUV had been reported stolen from East Lansing. The driver fled at extremely high speeds as the officer tried a traffic stop.
The stolen vehicle exited the freeway before the deputy could complete the stop and turned south onto D‑19, accelerating to speeds approaching 120 mph as it continued through rural Livingston County. Witnesses later described the SUV as “flying” down the roadway, weaving through traffic in an attempt to evade law enforcement. Deputies maintained pursuit while alerting nearby agencies as the chase moved toward more populated intersections.
At the intersection of D‑19 and Swarthout Road, the fleeing Range Rover attempted to pass a pickup truck that was turning left. The SUV slammed into the front of a 2023 Ford F‑350, then ricocheted into a parked Ford F‑450 on the shoulder. The force of the collisions crushed the front end of the stolen vehicle and caused catastrophic injuries to both occupants. Investigators later confirmed that neither the driver nor the passenger had been wearing seat belts at the time of impact.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene and transported the driver and his 23‑year‑old passenger to the University of Michigan Hospital. Despite intensive medical efforts, the driver—identified by loved ones as Gmo Person—was pronounced dead. His passenger remained in critical condition as of the latest update. Deputies noted that the occupants of the Ford trucks involved in the crash were not seriously injured.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the pursuit and crash, including the events leading up to the theft of the Range Rover and the decisions made during the chase. Officials emphasized that the entire sequence—from the attempted traffic stop to the fatal collision—unfolded in a matter of minutes. The violent end to the pursuit has left families and neighbors in Putnam Township shaken, mourning a life lost and hoping for the recovery of the surviving passenger.
