Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Monday that two men face multiple charges following separate incidents earlier this year where their vehicles crashed into Detroit Metro Airport terminals. Brian Matthew Sutton, 37, of Clinton Township, and David Chamlee, 67, of Southgate, were charged in connection with the unrelated crashes, which occurred on January 23 and May 29, respectively, in Romulus. Both men are scheduled for arraignment at 2:30 p.m. on Monday and could face up to life in prison if convicted.
In the first incident, prosecutors allege that on January 23, Brian Matthew Sutton was driving erratically outside the Detroit Metro Airport before making a sharp left turn and crashing into the McNamara Terminal. The vehicle reportedly came to rest at a Delta ticket counter. The crash resulted in injuries to at least three victims, specifically two female Delta Airlines employees and a female TSA agent. These women reportedly suffered minor injuries due to glass and debris from the impact. Worthy stated that Sutton was arrested a short time after attempting to flee the scene. Sutton has been charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder, three counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Additionally, he faces one count of malicious destruction of a building.
The second incident, occurring on May 29, involved David Chamlee. Prosecutors allege Chamlee was driving a black Cadillac SUV in the wrong direction outside the Evans Terminal. He reportedly jumped a curb onto the sidewalk, bypassed concrete barriers, and crashed through the front door of the terminal. This crash minorly injured two female travelers and caused significant damage to the building. Chamlee faces two counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count for malicious destruction of property of a building more than $20,000.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy underscored the gravity of these events during an 11:30 a.m. press conference. She emphasized that people do not expect to see "cars crashing into airport lobbies," nor passengers and airport employees "jumping to get out of the way of cars driving into airport terminals." Worthy added that massive property damage from vehicles speeding into terminals is also unexpected. She also commented on the potential for greater harm, noting, “This could have been a huge disaster, where mass people were hurt or event killed maybe. So we were very fortunate that that didn’t happen in either one of these times.”
Initial reports in both cases had implied that the suspects were suffering from mental health crises. In particular, Chamlee reportedly told authorities at the time that he was at the airport to meet Tom Cruise and save his dad. Echoing Worthy’s sentiment, Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton issued a statement Monday, saying that the incidents "posed a serious risk to the traveling public, airport employees and first responders." The Detroit Metro Airport is located in Romulus.