Ranita Cannon

Ranita Cannon, 26, a Black woman from Detroit, was driving late on Sunday night, September 25, 2016, when the ordinary rhythm of a short trip turned into a nightmare on the city’s northwest side. She had left home around 10:45 p.m., telling family she was heading to a friend’s house, and a male passenger was with her as she steered a burgundy 2008 Pontiac G5 onto the eastbound stretch of the James Couzens Freeway near West 8 Mile Road.

Near 11:40 p.m., as the car moved along the freew ...