HURON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Huron Township police said a drunken hit-and-run suspect was struck by a car and killed while walking in the middle of the road.
Officials said Mark Jeffery Barley, 55, of Huron Township, was involved in a crash at 3:31 p.m. Tuesday near West and Inkster roads and fled the scene on foot. Officials said the passenger in his vehicle was injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
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Police found Barley's vehicle in the 2700 block of Bordeau Street, according to authorities.
Police used a K-9 to track the man but couldn't find him, so the search was canceled after a couple of hours, according to authorities.
After the K-9 search ended, police received a call at 6:47 p.m. that a man had been hit by a car on near the area of King and Harrison roads.
Officials found Barley in the road and administered CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Huron Township police said they had received multiple calls about a person dressed in all black walking in and out of the roadway.
Officials said Barley appeared to have been highly intoxicated, which is why he was walking in and out of traffic. He was in the middle of the road when he was struck, police said.
Investigators determined Barley was the same person who had left the scene of the hit-and-run crash.
The driver who struck the man stopped at the scene, and no charges are expected.
The officer with the K-9 unit was rear-ended by another vehicle at 6:01 p.m. while sitting at a red light after leaving the scene, police said. The crash was unrelated to the rest of the case, and the officer is OK, according to authorities.
Officials said the driver who rear-ended the patrol car was treated for minor injuries.
Here's a statement from Huron Township police Director Everette Robbins:
"It is unfortunate that this reached the conclusion that it did. My thoughts go out not only to the family of the deceased, but also to the driver of the vehicle that had the unfortunate circumstance to be in that place at that time. The sad reality is what started as a simple crash ended in a tragedy that could have been avoided.
This was an ultimate day of teamwork within our public safety team, starting with our dispatch staff. They pulled together and did a great job making sure that everyone was safe and where they needed to be. Throughout these calls we had numerous other calls such as a suicidal person and multiple medical calls. I always say that our dispatchers are the glue that holds our public safety department together and they certainly lived up to that billing over the last 24 hours."