Twenty-one died in State Police pursuit crashes last year

LANSING (AP) — Michigan State Police statistics say 21 people died in 2015 during police pursuit crashes in the state.

MLive.com reports the number of fatalities, which include numbers from all police departments in the state, is down from 2014, when 27 people were killed in pursuit crashes — the highest of the past decade.

The deaths in 2015 occurred during 17 crashes.

The 2015 pursuits include seven crashes that left nine people dead Wayne County, including Detroit.

Fatal pursuit crashes occurred across the state, including Bay, Calhoun, Emmet, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw and Washtenaw counties.

In total, there were 509 crashes in police pursuits. According to state police figures, 274 people were injured in police pursuit crashes.