SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Oceana County — A 39-year-old South Boardman was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 31, following a vehicle chase, after he allegedly stole a vehicle from a Manistee County crash scene. The chain of events began about 10:39 a.m. on US 31 near Fox Farm Road in Filer Township when three vehicles were involved in a crash.
The crash involved a Chevrolet Cruze, driven by a 25-year-old Bear Lake man, a Dodge Durango driven by a 28-year-old Manistee woman and a Tesla driven by a 45-year-old Ludington woman. The Cruze was reportedly travelling southbound in the northbound lane of US 31 and collided with the Durango and the Tesla. The driver of the Cruze was transported to Munson Manistee Hospital by ambulance and treated for minor injuries. The driver of the Tesla was transported to Corewell Health Ludington Hospital by ambulance and treated for minor injuries.
According to Manistee County Sheriff Brian Gutowski, while deputies were responding to the scene, they were advised that a passenger from the Cruze, the 39-year-old South Boardman man, had stolen a vehicle, a Nissan Versa, belonging to a bystander who had stopped at the scene to render assistance. The Versa is owned by O’Reilly Auto Parts and was equipped with a GPS tracking device.
At 11:24 a.m., aMichigan StatePolice sergeantlocated thestolen vehicle travelingwestboundonUS 10-31 near Dennis Road in Mason County’s Amber Township. The sergeant attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled. The suspect continued westbound onUS 10-31beforetravelingsouthbound onUS 31 freeway.
ThevehiclewasthenlocatedbyaPentwater Police OfficertravelingsouthboundonUS 31in OceanaCountywhereapursuit wasinitiated.Thevehiclesubsequently ran out of fuel on US 31just north of the Shelby Road exit. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident.
The suspect was turned over to Manistee County deputies and will be lodged at the Manistee County Jail following medical clearance.
“This incident highlights the effective cooperation and coordination between multiple law enforcement agencies,” Gutowski said. “The Manistee County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the assistance provided by our law enforcement and emergency response partners.”
Agencies that assisted on the scene of the crash and during the pursuit of the stolen vehicle included: Manistee County Sheriff’s Office, Manistee City Police Department, Manistee City Fire Department, MMR EMS, Filer Township Fire/EMS, Grant Township (Mason County) Fire Department, Michigan State Police -Hart Post, Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, Pentwater Police Department, Hart Police Department, Shelby Police Department, Manistee County Central Dispatch, and Mason/Oceana 911.
The incident remains under investigation.
______________
Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
.png)
