Troopers release new information on fatal crash on 90th Avenue
The charges against the alleged driver of the van that struck and killed Darek Jamal Bullock-Mills have been dropped, Michigan State Police announced. Troopers discovered new evidence that determined the man accused was not the driver of the van.
When the crash was initially dispatched on Friday night, Michigan State troopers arrived on scene and were told a man was in custody on suspicion of operating while intoxicated.
Based on evidence at the scene and accounts from the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, the man was arrested on OWI charges.
On Sunday, troopers followed up on new evidence they found at the crash scene early Saturday morning.
This new evidence led troopers to the identity of additional passengers/witnesses who were in the van and left the scene of the crash before police arrived.
These passengers identified another person as the driver.
Troopers are actively searching for the driver of the van. Troopers know their identity but the person is still at large.
The man previously identified as the driver has been released from custody.
At 9:45 p.m. on Friday, a Ford panel van traveling west on 90th Avenue crossed the center line near 67th Street, crashing head-on with an eastbound motorcycle driven by 27-year-old Bullock-Mills of Niles.
Bullock-Mills was ejected from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene.
A 24-year-old female passenger was also ejected from the motorcycle.
She was flown to a hospital for critical injuries.
It is not known if Bullock-Mills or his passenger were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
Witnesses at the scene said the van was well over the center line and almost hit another motorcycle traveling in front of Bullock-Mills.