ROMULUS, Mich. – Michigan State Police says a 7-year-old girl was hit and killed while crossing I-94 in Romulus early Sunday morning.
The incident happened around 3 a.m. Sunday near I-94 and Merriman Road. Police said the girl's father was involved in a drunk driving crash earlier near I-94 and Inkster Road.
"He was very intoxicated, had to help him out of the vehicle, wasn't giving any information or no indication that anyone else was in the vehicle at the time," said authorities.
Police say the man lost control and hit an abandoned vehicle. He went off the freeway into a fenced area of a nearby trucking facility.
After the crash, the 7-year-old left the vehicle, grabbed her belongings, and attempted to cross the freeway where she was hit, police said. It's unclear why the girl decided to cross the freeway, but police said she was texting 911 for help. (This service is available in parts of Michigan)
The 7-year-old's body was eventually discovered in the median, about a mile away from where her father crashed.
The freeway had been closed but has since reopened.
In several tweets, MSP said the following:
The following is preliminary information and is subject to change with further investigation. Troopers at the Metro South Post were dispatched to eastbound I94 & Inkster for a female driver who believes she hit a pedestrian.
Troopers made initial contact with the driver, checked the vehicle and did not see any sign/evidence that she hit a person. Troopers checked the area around the vehicle and was unable to locate a person or animal in the area.
A short time later, Troopers learned that the Romulus Police Department had been investigating a crash eastbound I94 near Merriman involving a suspected drunk driver. Romulus Police also began receiving text messages from a 7 year old female that she needed help.
The child attempted to cross I 94 and was struck by the initial vehicle MSP was investigating. She was killed instantly. Further investigation determined that the drunk driver from the crash Romulus Police was handling is the father of the 7 year old.
Notification has been made to the girls mother. The child is from Detroit. Romulus Police are investigating the drunk driving portion of the investigation and MSP is investigating the fatal crash. The driver of the vehicle that struck the child has been released.
The driver of the drunk driving crash and father of the 7 year old child is in custody. At this time no further information is going to be released due to the prosecution of this incident
I 94 Crash Update: https://t.co/ZkxZF1FKBW
— MSP Metro Detroit (@mspmetrodet) July 15, 2018