A man impaled by a fence pole in a car crash involving immigration agents in Detroit was hospitalized in stable condition going into the weekend, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Sunday, June 7, after family members reported being denied information and not knowing if their loved one was dead or alive.
The agency is now also sharing its description of what happened, saying an ICE agent was also injured.
ICE has not named the injured man, but he was identified as Mohamd Salim Abdessamed by a relative. Abdessamed is also the listed owner of the car the impaled man was driving.
Abdessamed was impaled by a fence pole that went through the windshield on Thursday, June 4, in a crash that left his sedan on top of two parked vehicles in a driveway on the west side of Detroit.
Dearborn resident Cheikh Saad Bouh Sidi Haiba said Abdessamed, 23, is his brother-in-law and an immigrant from Mauritania in northwest Africa.
In a text message Sunday to a reporter, Sidi Haiba said a lawyer was able to make contact with Abdessamed through a video call that morning.“He is still alive,” Sidi Haiba said.
On Friday, Sidi Haiba met with news media outside the Dearborn hospital where he believed Abdessamed was being treated, saying the young man was identified through clothing seen in widely shared videos of the crash and that neither ICE nor the hospital would confirm where he was a patient nor if he was alive.
The young man has been in the country for two years and is seeking asylum, Sidi Haiba said.
The impaled man was initially listed in critical condition on Thursday following the crash, according to the Detroit Fire Department.
ICE did not provide comment on the crash, which tore through a Detroit family’s yard, when contacted Thursday and Friday, and only released a statement to the Free Press on Sunday.
What ICE said happened in Detroit crash that impaled man
Detroit fire personnel were called at about 10:18 a.m. Thursday for the crash in the 6700 block of Warwick Street, at Whitlock Avenue. The sedan just narrowly missed the closed-in porch on the home of April King, 50.
The damage in front of her home showed the sedan maimed a tree near the road, then blasted through the fence just feet from her porch, hit her brick wishing well, and landed on top of a 1987 Monte Carlo SS and GMC Yukon in her driveway. It knocked into garage, too, shaking loose shingles.
ICE, in a statement attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, reported agents were trying to attempt a lawful vehicle stop during a targeted enforcement operation before the crash happened.
“As officers attempted the stop, the suspect immediately (and) dangerously tried to evade arrest and struck three government vehicles, pinning an ICE officer’s leg in the car door,” according to the statement from ICE. “The suspect continued on before losing control of his vehicle and crashing through a fence and a garage before the vehicle came to a stop on top of two other vehicles.”
An ICE officer was also taken to a hospital, the department reported.
The Free Press sent follow-up questions to ICE on Sunday and the department responded, but did not provide an answer as to the officer’s condition.
The driver they’d sought to stop was in stable condition as of Friday, June 5, according to the department.
What neighbors said about ICE-involved crash that left man impaled
King’s family members, including DJ Matkins, 28, were home at the time and reported seeing law enforcement in a vehicle chase before the crash. Matkins also stated that agents turned their vehicle lights on after the crash.
The family did not immediately report on Thursday damage to government vehicles or another injury at the scene. Matkins on Sunday said he did not see an injured ICE officer or damaged government vehicles.
A right to know if a loved one is alive or dead?
ICE did not comment on concerns from Sidi Haiba about being denied access to his injured brother-in-law’s health condition.
Sidi Haiba said he called more than 20 hospitals before getting a tip that Abdessamed was at Corewell Health Deaborn Hospital, and Sidi Haiba was still turned away there.
The health system did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s the second time in the last month that a crash, injury, and reports of being denied injury status have been tied to ICE and Detroit area hospitals.
ICE condemns ‘know your rights’ guides
ICE, in its statement, took aim at officials it called “sanctuary politicians.”
The “dangerous attempt to evade arrest” in the incident Thursday came after politicians such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have taken efforts with webinars, guides and sanctuary laws that provide direction on “how to openly defy ICE,” according to ICE.
The statement linked to new articles, press releases and “know your rights” guides.
One highlighted a webinar in which Ocasio-Cortez discussed rights and how ICE agents were reportedly stopping people while in unmarked vehicles. Another linked to a press release for Newsom regarding legislation to limit ICE’s presence in hospitals and schools.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ICE: Man who pinned agent with car in Detroit crash, impaled, but stable
Reporting by Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
