By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - A high-speed pursuit ended in a dramatic crash near a popular Niles restaurant during the dinner hour Monday night.
While the patio of the Riverfront Cafe was filled with diners, no one was reported injured, thanks to a planter that was installed last year as part of the city's streetscape improvements.
At 8:05 p.m. Monday, the Niles City Police Department received a dispatch from the Berrien County Sheriff's Department, that officers from their department, as well troopers from Michigan State Police and Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police were in pursuit of two burglary suspects driving a blue Chevrolet suburban heading south on Old 31, according to report issued this morning by the sheriff's department.
Suspects were identified as Tyrone Williams, 44 and Robert Lee Sims, 38 both of Chicago.
The pair were apprehended after the crash came to an end in downtown Niles.
The pursuit began when a retired police officer saw the subspects running from a construction trailer at tool trailers, located at Tabor Road and the US 31 Bypass in Sodus Township.
After the retired officer called 911 and followed the suspects for a short distance, squad cars began to chase the suspects through the Village of Berrien Springs south on Old 31.
Speeds from the chase were reported up to 90 miles per hour, police report.
Earlier in the pursuit officers from the Michigan State Police set up several sets of spike strips, meant to damage the vehicle's tires and disable it. However, the suspect managed do dodge them, police report.
A Niles city police officer was able to deploy stop sticks on Old 31, near the bridge at the Dowagiac Creek in Niles, the report said.
When the suspect neared the Niles city police officer, the vehicle changed lanes of traffic, passing three other cars, which allowed the officer to pull the stop sticks under the vehicle and puncture the driver's side front tire.
The driver almost lost control of the vehicle because of the high rate of speed at which they were traveling, the report said.
The suspect regained control and continued into Niles, but crashed the Suburban he was driving into a brick planter at the intersection of Front and Sycamore streets.
A Berrien Springs-Oronoko township squad car was also damaged when the suspect's vehicle crashed into it. No injuries were reported.
During an inventory of the vehicle, numerous power tools were recovered from the vehicle and it appeared that other sites had been entered, police report. Officers are still attempting to identify the owners of the property that was recovered from the vehicle.
The suspects were lodged at the Berrien County Sheriffs Department on charges of breaking and entering and fleeing and eluding police.
Jerry French of French Paper Co. in Niles, who is also a Niles Community Schools board of education member, witnessed the crash of the vehicle into the planter. He was dining closest to the planter on Riverfront's patio.
The planter apparently prevented the fleeing vehicle from crashing into diners on the patio at the Cafe.
He added the chase and crash were "probably one of the most exciting things that has happened in Niles recently."
He said he was most concerned about the safety of some of his out-of-town clients, who were dining with him at the time.