Illegal alien NOT in custody after deadly crash claims life of beloved Michigan pastor
A beloved Detroit-area pastor was fatally struck while out on a morning walk earlier this month, yet the illegal alien believed to be involved in his death is still out roaming the streets.
Around 6:45 a.m. on November 3, Stephen Singleton — a 72-year-old pastor, family man, and avid athlete — was out for his usual morning walk in Rochester Hills, Michigan, a city of some 76,000 residents about a half-hour north of Detroit. Wearing a reflector vest, Singleton stepped into the designated crosswalk so that he could safely cross Rochester Road near Avon Road.
He didn’t make it.
At some point, an individual driving a 2013 Ford Focus struck Singleton with such force that he flew in the air and shattered the windshield, his grieving widow said.
“The car hit him so hard that he flew in the air and hit the windshield and broke it,” Teri Singleton told WXYZ-TV.
The injuries he sustained were catastrophic.
“He had almost every bone in his body broken,” she told WJBK. “He had his collarbone fractured, internal organ damage, and his skull was cracked. He had two craniotomies in the hospital.”
Deputies initially told Mrs. Singleton that her husband was responsive despite his injuries, but by the time the family arrived at the hospital, he had taken a serious turn for the worse. He was placed on life support and died a few days after the crash.
‘I had to sit and watch my husband of 53 years die in front of me.’
Stephen Singleton, always known for his devotion to others, went to New York City in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, praying with those in need and searching desperately — but ultimately in vain — for survivors.
“I started tearing because I couldn’t find survivors,” he recalled in a 2022 interview with WXYZ-TV, where Singleton once worked. “We would find people who were perished, but we couldn’t find survivors.”
A GoFundMe page established following his death gives even more insight into the man Stephen Singleton was:
He never met a stranger, was a friend to everyone and made lifelong friendships. His motto was everyone was his brother or sister and sharing support, wisdom and the love of the Lord was his responsibility. He was a father to the fatherless, as well as all his nieces and nephews and every child in all the neighborhoods he frequented.
While the Singleton family is left to mourn the loss of such a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, the man believed to be involved in his death is not in custody.
“I had to sit and watch my husband of 53 years die in front of me, and then to know that the person who did this is walking around is very difficult to deal with,” Teri said, adding, “He’s dead and they’re walking around. That’s bothering me.”
Investigators told WJBK that the individual is a Colombian national and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that he crossed the border illegally and was released pending a future hearing in federal court. WXYZ-TV also noted that the man had a valid foreign driver’s license, “which is accepted in Michigan.”
According to WJBK, police do not believe alcohol or speed were factors in the crash.
A spokesperson from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Blaze News that the crash remains under investigation but declined to comment further.
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