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Linda Jozefiak

Age : 58

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 12/20/2021

Location : Cass Avenue and South Rose Street

City : Mt. Clemens

County : Macomb

State : Michigan

Agency : Macomb Auto Theft Squad / Macomb County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
Macomb Auto Theft Squad officers located a 2014 Dodge Ram pickup that had been reported stolen earlier that morning in Fraser. Officers established surveillance and attempted to arrest 41-year-old Vertese Steven Woods when he entered the truck.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 12/20/2021, at approximately 1:23 p.m., Macomb Auto Theft Squad officers were conducting surveillance of the stolen Dodge Ram parked on Main Street in Mount Clemens. When Woods entered the truck and started it, an officer moved an undercover police vehicle behind the truck to block it while another officer activated emergency lights, exited and ordered Woods to stop. Woods reversed the pickup into the undercover police vehicle, pushed it backward, drove over a curb and struck a parking meter before continuing away at high speed.
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As Woods drove over the curb, a pedestrian had to move out of the truck’s path and several people sitting at a picnic table or bench were also narrowly missed. Police lost sight of the truck and began searching the surrounding area. Authorities subsequently received reports that the pickup was being driven recklessly westbound on Hubbard Avenue.
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At approximately 1:26 p.m., only about three minutes after police attempted to arrest Woods, 911 callers reported a rollover crash at Cass Avenue and South Rose Street. Woods was traveling at approximately 80 mph when he ran a stop sign and struck the driver’s side of a Ford Fusion driven eastbound on Cass Avenue by 58-year-old Linda Jozefiak. The impact pushed Jozefiak’s car southeast, where it struck a curb and rolled onto its passenger side. The Dodge Ram also rolled, struck a utility pole and came to rest on its driver’s side.
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Jozefiak, a Harrison Township resident, was transported to McLaren Macomb Hospital, where she died from her injuries. Woods climbed from the crashed pickup and ran from the scene. Prosecutors alleged that he discarded his jacket and stole a child’s bicycle while attempting to escape before police arrested him.
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Jozefiak was remembered by people who knew her as a thoughtful and generous woman who regularly helped others. Harrison Township firefighters regarded her as part of their extended family, and her family requested memorial donations to the Macomb County Food Program.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
1 Fatality. No additional crash injuries were reported.
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DISPOSITION:
Woods was initially charged with 16 counts, including second-degree murder and first-degree fleeing police. Following a four-day jury trial, on 10/06/2023 a Macomb County jury convicted Woods of involuntary manslaughter, first-degree fleeing and eluding, operating with a suspended license causing death, receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, moving violation causing death, malicious destruction of property and larceny.
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Woods was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 10 to 15 years for involuntary manslaughter, first-degree fleeing and eluding, operating with a suspended license causing death and failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death, with additional concurrent sentences on the remaining convictions. On 02/26/2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions and sentences.
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LITIGATION:
None found.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/roseville-man-charged-with-16-counts-for-a-fatal-crash-in-mt-clemens
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/12/22/roseville-man-faces-16-charges-after-woman-killed-in-crash-with-stolen-pickup-police-say/
https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/29528/fleeing_police_man_kills_motorist_steals_child_s_bike
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/man-accused-of-stealing-childs-bike-while-trying-to-flee-crash-that-killed-woman-in-mt-clemens
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/12/20/macomb-county-woman-killed-by-driver-who-fled-police-in-stolen-pickup-truck-officials-say/
https://www.macombgov.org/sites/default/files/files/2023-11/10_11_2023WoodsGuilty.pdf
https://law.justia.com/cases/michigan/court-of-appeals-unpublished/2026/370157.html