Woman Injured, Dog Killed in Hit and Run in Orion Twp
(Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept, July 27, 2018)
Orion Township, MI –
SUMMARY: Deputies responded to the area of Morgan Rd and Homesite Drive (West of Baldwin Rd) for a hit and run pedestrian injury accident at around 7am on July 25. The victim was walking her dog westbound on Morgan Rd in the eastbound lane, so that she could see oncoming traffic, when she and her dog were struck from behind by an unknown vehicle. The vehicle was traveling westbound on Morgan when the driver crossed into the eastbound lane and struck the victim and her dog. The victim yelled for the car to stop and to assist her but it continued to travel westbound on Morgan Rd. A motorist stopped to assist the victim. The motorist called 9-1-1 and remained with the victim until first responders arrived. The victim suffered a fractured arm and her dog was killed. The victim described the vehicle as being a large white SUV that had 2 windows in the rear and had long vertical brake lights.
OUTCOME OF INCIDENT: The victim was transported to the hospital by Paramedics from Star EMS. The deceased animal, a 10 year old poodle mix, was picked up by the Oakland Animal Hospital. Deputies searched the area for the responsible vehicle but were unable to locate the driver or the responsible vehicle. Deputies and a Detective are continuing with the investigation.
UPDATE:
Detectives have located video of a vehicle on Morgan Road that was in the area of at crash scene just seconds before the victim was struck.
The victim has been released from the hospital and the image captured on a nearby home security system is consistent with the vehicle descriptions provided at the accident scene and verified by the victim.
Detectives have compiled stock images of a white in color GM SUV body style produced from 2006 – 2008 that closely matches both the victim’s description and the security system video. Further research revealed the suspect vehicle is actually classified as a General Motors mini-van produced between 2005 to 2009. The Chevrolet Uplander model is a good example of this body style. But it may be an Oldsmobile or Pontiac model also as they the produced a similar style vehicle. The wide black trim or rub rail seen is the attached photo is distinctive and the vehicle will have some possible damage to the front-end and possibly the drivers-side mirror.
The photo is taken from surveillance video that captured the sound of the impact as it happened off screen, and the vehicle speeding away.