By Don Rush
A 28-year-old woman was taken into custody in the village of Leonard, on July 20, in connection to a hit and run fatality in Lapeer County.
According to Oakland County Sheriff Detective Sgt. H. Keith Weir, around 7:30 that morning Deputy Robert Deja of the Addison Township substation responded to the area of Rochester Road near Bordman Road, in Addison Township, on the report of a vehicle which appeared to be damaged and “swerving all over the roadway.”
“Deputy Deja was in the village of Leonard and noticed, then stopped a vehicle with front and side damage,” Weir said.
According to deputy reports, the driver, a 28-year-old female from Columbiaville, made statements inconsistent with the deputy’s initial investigation.
“The driver stated around 7 a.m. she left for work and struck a deer. She then continued on her way to work, around a curve and hit another deer,” Weir said. “When he (Deja) looked at the vehicle he didn’t see any deer hair.”
Due to the damage and inconsistent statements, Deja contacted neighboring jurisdictions and learned a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle he stopped was wanted in a recent hit and run fatality.
The operator and sole occupant was released to the custody of the Lapeer Township Police Department.
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According to Lapeer County Sheriff Detective Sgt. Jason Parks, his department received a 911 call around 7:20 a.m., about an injured man discovered along the edge of Hunters Creek Road, west of Five Lakes Road in Metamora.
The 59-year-old Metamora man was transported to McLaren Hospital in Lapeer where he died from his injuries at 8 a.m.
According to Parks, “The victim was almost home from his morning walk. Each morning he took his two dogs for a walk. We received information from sanitation workers who had seen him earlier in the morning with his dogs. When they returned down the road they noticed one of the dogs lying in the middle of the road. When they got out of their truck to remove the dog, they noticed the man and the other dog in the ditch.”
Both dogs were dead.
Parks said the man was walking east on Hunters Creek Road and that it appears he and his dogs were struck by an eastbound vehicle. According to Parks, pieces of a dark gray Chevrolet Malibu, including the passenger side mirror, were found at the accident scene.
Currently the case is being investigated by the Lapeer Sheriff’s Office, Lapeer Township Police and the Michigan State Police. As of the time of publication, Parks said, the driver is “a person of interest” in this case. She was taken into custody, then released. He expects to take the case to the prosecutor later this week.