Katie Robinson

SAULT STE. MARIE — Following a five-day jury trial, Tanner Dunbar Harrison was found guilty on Friday of one count of second-degree murder, nearly five years after the incident that claimed the life of a 20-year-old women.

The case prosecuted by Chippewa County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Giommi. Jurors learned about a reckless driving incident that turned into a police pursuit, ultimately taking the life of Katie Robinson. The jury heard from 31 witnesses and viewed 33 exhibits before reaching its decision.

“We all wish this tragic event could have been avoided. Tanner Harrison made that impossible by his actions,” said Chippewa County Sheriff Michael Bitnar. “The investigation was complex and could not have been successful without the diligent work of Detective/Sergeant Douglas Mitchell, along with several of my deputy sheriffs, who were assisted on scene by Sault Ste. Marie City Police, Sault Tribe Police and Sault Fire and EMS.”

According to a joint press release from Chippewa County Prosecutor Robert L. Stratton and Bittnar, during the evening hours of June 17, 2021, Central Dispatch began receiving numerous calls about a dual-wheel Ford F-350 pickup truck on M-129 near Pickford, running cars off the roadway. Central Dispatch also received a call reporting the same vehicle on M-129 near M-80, where it cut off another driver, slammed on its brakes, removed a tire iron from the bed of the truck, and threw it at the vehicle it had just cut off. That driver attempted to flee and the Ford chased him at a high rate of speed.

After a be-on-the-lookout bulletin was issued to law enforcement, a Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office deputy located the Ford F-350 still traveling on M-129 near 8 Mile. The deputy activated his lights and sirens, but the Ford F-350 did not pull over. Instead, the deputy observed Harrison continue to drive recklessly, forcing additional vehicles off the road by traveling in the oncoming southbound lane and nearly crashing on multiple occasions. The deputy recorded speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour as they continued toward the city.

The deputy advised other officers that they were approaching 3 Mile, still heading northbound at approximately 90 miles per hour. At that time, Sault Ste. Marie Police officers began heading to Ashmun Street in anticipation of the incoming reckless driver, with one officer stationed at the intersection of Ashmun Street and West 19th Avenue with lights and sirens activated.

Katie Robinson had just left work and was driving northbound on Ashmun Street when Tanner Harrison deliberately crashed his truck into the rear of her Volkswagen Bug at approximately 88 miles per hour. After striking Robinson’s vehicle, Harrison’s truck collided with a parked vehicle before ultimately crashing into the Great Lakes Recovery Center. Law enforcement and EMS provided immediate emergency medical care to Robinson, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Harrison is currently lodged at the Chippewa County Correctional Facility awaiting sentencing in the 50th Circuit Court.

Bud Sargent can be reached at 906-228-2500, extension 544. His email address is bsargent@miningjournal.net.