Suspect arraigned in fatal hit-and-run

A 19-year-old Macomb Township man accused of a Feb. 29 fatal hit-and-run in Oxford Township was arrested Monday morning.

Johnson
Johnson

Noah William Johnson turned himself in at the Rochester Hills 52-3 District Court and was arraigned on the charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in serious impairment or death. The crime is a five-year felony.

He was released on a $7,500 personal bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. May 24 before 52-3 District Judge Nancy Carniak.

Johnson is being represented by Royal Oak attorney Mitchell Ribitwer. His attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment by press time.

He is accused of hitting Jordan Brooke Puckett, a 26-year-old Orion Township resident, with a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck as she was walking along W. Drahner Rd. on Feb. 29.

She was struck at approximately 10 p.m., according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. Her body was found by a newspaper delivery person the next day at approximately 4:19 a.m. on the south shoulder of the road, just east of Olive Rd. Puckett was pronounced dead at scene.

Puckett
Puckett

Initially, sheriff’s investigators had no suspects or witnesses to the crash. They didn’t even have a description of the responsible vehicle.

That all changed when Johnson turned himself in at the sheriff’s Oxford Township substation the same day Puckett’s body was discovered. He came in at about 1 p.m.

Johnson was interviewed, arrested, lodged at the county jail, then released pending investigation by the sheriff’s Crash Reconstruction Unit.

“There was some evidence at the scene that matched his vehicle,” said Deputy Robert Batzloff, of the Crash Reconstruction Unit.

Batzloff said toxicology reports indicated Puckett “was under the influence of alcohol and under the influence of marijuana” at the time of the accident.

Johnson was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he allegedly hit Puckett, according to Batzloff.

Batzloff said Puckett “was in the roadway” when she was struck, but “the exact point is undetermined.”

“There was no indication that the vehicle was on the shoulder,” the deputy said. “The vehicle was in the eastbound lane.”

Following the accident, Johnson stopped twice in Oxford to check his vehicle for damage, according to Batzloff, but he did not return to the area of the crash.

Instead, Johnson drove to his home, according to the sheriff’s office.

On the night she was killed, Puckett was riding in a vehicle with two friends when she became involved in a verbal argument at approximately 9:30 p.m. As a result of this, she existed the vehicle and began walking along W. Drahner Rd. in an easterly direction.

Sheriff’s investigators indicated Puckett was struck nearly one mile from where she exited her friend’s vehicle.

Puckett attended Oxford High School for her freshman and sophomore years, then moved to Ortonville and graduated from Brandon High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in human services from Baker College and was planning to pursue a master’s degree in psychology.

 

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