Crawford County Sheriff’s Office
200 West Michigan Avenue
Grayling Michigan 49738

NEWS RELEASE

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

     Sheriff Kirk A. Wakefield states that on Thursday January 18, 2006 at approximately 7:50 a.m. reports were received that a body was lying along side M-72 just west of the city of Grayling.  Deputies arrived on the scene along with ambulance officials and determined the male victim was deceased.  An investigation determined that the death was a result of a pedestrian vehicle hit and run accident.

     The pedestrian Neil Louis Pearce, 50 y.o. of Mio, Michigan was walking westbound on M-72 west when he was struck by a westbound vehicle. The accident occurred late Wednesday evening however, was not discovered until Thursday morning.

     As the investigation continued into Thursday afternoon deputies were able to locate the suspect vehicle and identify the driver.  He is a long time Grayling resident whom is now cooperating with the accident investigation.  The 46 y.o. Grayling man told deputies he was westbound on M-72 at approximately 10:45 p.m. Wednesday night when he heard what he believed a deer hit his vehicle. He reported that he had turned around and drove back through the area not finding anything.  The man continued home where he assessed the damage to the front right corner of his pickup truck.  He reported that due to the minor damage and not having collision coverage on his insurance he did not report what he believed to be a car deer accident to the police.

     It is believed that the victim died on impact and that alcohol may have been a factor both with the pedestrian and driver of the vehicle.  An autopsy is scheduled in Lansing on the deceased to determine any other factors in the accident.

     Once the investigation is completed the results of the investigation will be turned over to Crawford County Prosecuting attorney John Huss to determine whether or not any criminal charges will be brought against the driver of the vehicle.

     Agency’s Assisting:  Mobile Medical Response (MMR Ambulance), M.S.P. Houghton Lake, and the Grayling City Police Department.

Submitted by:  Sergeant Randell R. Baerlocher

  

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