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John Kelsey requests new trial February 18, 2026
John Kelsey is petitioning the Ingham County Circuit Court for a new trial. He was convicted in 2015 of fleeing and eluding resulting in death – the death of Ingham County Sheriff Deputy Grant Whitaker. Whitaker’s car crashed when he lost control while pursuing Kelsey outside of Stockbridge at speeds between 110 and 120 mph. At the time, it was thought the reason Whitaker lost control was a series of dips in the road; the loading and unloading of the car's suspension going over those dips affected the steering.
There was no evidence of another vehicle being involved in the crash, but it didn’t matter. The jury in the June 2015 trial found Kelsey guilty of fleeing and eluding in the first degree. Fleeing and eluding is addressed in section 750.479a(5) of the Michigan Penal Code:
Note that is says "results" in death, not "causes" death. It was not necessary for Kelsey to be directly involved.
That series of dips in the road that caused Whitaker to lose control was offered as an explanation only because there was no other. Since Whitaker lived in the area he was familiar with the roads. It was a clear night and the roads were dry. He was trained in high speed pursuit. A few dips on a familiar road should not have been a problem.
In December 2020, it was discovered that the Chevy Impala police vehicle Whitaker was driving was defective. General Motors had issued a recall in 2012 saying the front lower control arms could fracture resulting in loss of control. This is from an August 2012 letter from GM to “General Motors Customer”:
The recall notice is still there on the site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Click Recalls at the top, then enter VIN 2G1WS57M991315528.
The recall notice was sent to the Ingham County sheriff, the owner of the vehicle, but the sheriff did nothing about it. In fact, the car was at Shaheen Chevrolet for service on November 26, 2014 only a few days before the crash on December 7, but although the incomplete recall is noted on the General Motors Global Connect Warranty report of the service, Shaheen did not replace the control arms.
The main argument in Kelsey's request for a new trial is that the actual or "proximate" cause of the crash was not that Whitaker was pursuing Kelsey, but the gross negligence of the Ingham County Sheriff's Department and Shaheen Chevrolet in failing to repair a critical safety defect in the lower control arms. As I said above, a strict reading of the statute indicates that the actual cause doesn't matter. However, Kelsey and his attorneys point to court opinions that say that proximate cause must be considered. They say it has been established that if "an intervening cause supersedes a defendant's conduct such that the causal link between the defendant's conduct and the victim's injury was broken, proximate cause is lacking and criminal liability cannot be imposed." (source)
Judge James Jamo, the judge for the original trial, will hear the new trial request. It is unknown when that decision will be made.
Here are three of the stories I've written on this case:
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