ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — A 40-year-old Shelby Township man who was involved in a crash in Rochester Hills on Thursday has died, with preliminary findings from an autopsy indicating that his death was not directly caused by injuries from the crash.
The crash happened Oct. 8 around 6:16 p.m. on West Hamlin Road, west of Crooks Road, after the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said a 40-year-old Shelby Township man who was traveling eastbound on West Hamlin Road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee failed to properly navigate around a stopped 2025 Ram 1500 in the eastbound through lane.
Both drivers were injured, but not seriously hurt, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of the stopped vehicle, a 43-year-old Commerce Township man, was treated on scene. The driver of the Jeep was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The sheriff’s office said that deputies observed indications that the Jeep driver was possibly impaired by alcohol and obtained a blood sample for analysis.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital on Friday, Oct. 9, around 1:15 p.m.
An autopsy was conducted on Saturday by the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office, which said that preliminary findings indicated that his death was not directly caused by injuries sustained in the collision, although alcohol use was identified as a contributing factor.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver of the Ram was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, while seat belt use by the Jeep driver has not been determined.
The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Crash Reconstruction Unit.
