Baby, woman die, 6 injured in Detroit car crashes

A woman and a 6-month-old baby died while six others were injured, including three children, Thursday night in two car crashes on Detroit’s west side, police said.

Police said a 2001 Chrysler Town & Country minivan was heading west on Puritan about 8:30 p.m. when it was struck by a silver Pontiac Grand Prix driving south on Archdale, said Officer Jennifer Moreno, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department.

After the impact, the van “went up in the air, flipped over and rolled,” Moreno said.

Three children inside — a 6-month-old baby and two girls, ages 2 and 4 — were ejected.

The infant was pronounced dead at a hospital. The two girls, a 12-year-old brother, their 40-year-old mother and 59-year-old grandmother all were hospitalized in temporary serious condition late Thursday, Moreno said.

The Grand Prix driver fled the scene. A description was not yet available as investigators worked to determine the cause of crash.

The car is believed to have heavy front-end damage.

About an hour after that crash, officers were called to another grisly scene in a neighborhood some four miles away.

A 2005 Ford Taurus had been traveling above 100 mph near Lyndon and Turner when it lost control and hit a tree, Moreno said.

A woman in the car was pronounced dead at Sinai-Grace Hospital. Another female inside was hospitalized there in critical condition late Thursday.

It wasn’t clear who was behind the wheel, and authorities have not made identifications, Moreno said.

Anyone with information on either crash is asked to call Detroit police at (313) 596-2280.