FERNDALE, Mich. – Police are asking for the public's help identifying a driver who ran over a man in Ferndale Friday night and fled the scene.
Michael Proxmire, 49, was run over by a vehicle near the intersection of 10 Mile Road and Huron Avenue and was left in the roadway. A passer-by spotted him and called 911. Officers did CPR on Proxmire but were not able to revive him. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Ten Mile Road is a service road for I-696. The area where Mr. Proxmire was struck, it's lit, but it's pretty desolate," Sgt. Baron Brown with the Ferndale Police Department said.
The Ferndale Police Department doesn't know the exact time when the crash happened but believe Proxmire may have been on a bicycle.
"We believe sometime between 9:30 to 9:45 and to midnight, a 49-year-old man from Madison Heights was struck by a vehicle and killed. We don't have any information on the striking vehicle. The bike was found about 10 feet from him. There's no damage to the bike, so there's an indication that he wasn't on the bike when he was struck, but we need to talk to somebody to find out for certain," Brown said.
Proxmire's mother, Marie Winekoff, spoke about her son Monday afternoon and pleaded with the driver in the hit-and-run crash to come forward.
"I loved my son. We were very close, and he was taken from me and he laid there in the dark by himself. We need help, please, anybody. I need some closure. This is happening way too much to families. It's got to stop. You have to turn yourself in. Do the right thing. You may have panicked, but make it right now, please," Winekoff pleaded.
Police are hoping to speak with the driver of a red Mustang that was parked at the scene Friday night. There was a white man in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Police do not believe he has anything to do with the hit-and-run crash, but want to speak with him.
Winekoff and Crime Stoppers have a cash reward of $2,500 for anyone with information in Proxmire's death. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ferndale Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
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