A Troy man was arraigned today after he allegedly tried to back out of a traffic stop, crashing into a patrol car and leading deputies on a high-speed chase before smashing into another patrol car last weekend.
Gary L. Karas, 36, was stopped on North River Road near I-94 in Harrison Township when a deputy, sensing he might be intoxicated, asked him to step out of his 1997 Ford F-150 pickup, according to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office.
The man "threw his car into reverse and purposely backed into the sheriff patrol car. (Karas) then drove across a lawn and fled the scene at a high rate of speed," according to the release.
After leading deputies on a chase with speeds over 100 m.p.h., the driver exited the freeway at Metropolitan Parkway, running through a construction zone and turning southbound onto Union Lake. Another sheriff's patrol car was set up to intercept the truck, and the F-150 broadsided it.
The truck was undrivable after the second crash, and Karas was arrested after a struggle with deputies. He was taken to a local hospital to treat injuries.
Karas was charged Tuesday with felonious assault with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, operating while impaired (third offense) and resisting and obstructing arrest. Karas' driving privilege has been "administratively denied and revoked," and he has four previous convictions for drunken driving, according to the sheriff's office.
Karas was arraigned Tuesday with bond at $100,000 cash or surety. His preliminary exam is set for June 9 in 41B District Court in Clinton Township, according to the sheriff's office.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
