DETROIT – A 49-year-old man was killed Friday amid a fiery crash on Southfield Freeway in Detroit, but additional evidence has pushed police to investigate the death as a homicide.
The 49-year-old Detroit man, whose name was not provided by police, was pronounced dead on Friday, Dec. 15 after being involved in a crash on southbound Southfield Freeway (M-39) near Plymouth Road. At around 11:45 p.m. that night, the man was driving a truck and lost control, hitting a second vehicle, running up the right embankment, and striking the concrete wall, witnesses told police.
The vehicle then “rolled down onto the freeway and caught fire,” Michigan State Police reported. The man was ejected from the truck amid the crash. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
As they investigated the scene, law enforcement discovered a bullet hole in the truck, and “several shell casings” in the area. Officials did not say whether the man had any gunshot wounds. His exact cause of death was not provided.
Police said Sunday that the man’s death is being investigated as a homicide, and that the investigation was ongoing. They did not have any information related to the shooter or their vehicle.
The driver of the second vehicle involved in the crash was reportedly hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to call police or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-Speak Up.