MONROE COUNTY — A pregnant woman died after her car was struck by an alleged drunk driver, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The crash occured in Whiteford Township on Saturday, May 17th, shortly after 10:00 p.m. 32-year-old Kaitlyn A. Ellison of Petersburg was operating a red Ford Escape northbound on US-23 in the right lane. While in motion, Ellison was side-swiped by a white Chrysler 300.
According to witnesses, the Chrysler 300 was passing vehicles at a high rate of speed on the right shoulder prior to the crash. The Chrysler 300 then merged into the right lane from the shoulder and attempted to pass the Ford Escape on the left before striking it. The Ford Escape ran off the roadway to the right and rolled several times over an embankment before coming to rest on its right side, while the Chrysler 300 came to rest in the left median of the expressway.
Ellison, who was seven months pregnant, was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated by Whiteford Township Fire Department. She was transported to ProMedica Toledo Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Chrysler fled the scene on foot.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office K9 and Drone teams searched the area, before deputies located and arrested the driver at the Pilot Gas Station on US-223. The driver, a 24-year-old male from Oregon, Ohio, was lodged at the Monroe County Jail on two counts of Second Degree Homicide and two counts of Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death. His name is being withheld until he is formally arraigned in Monroe County 1st District Court.
Members of the Whiteford Township Fire Department, Monroe Community Ambulance, and the Michigan State Police assisted at the scene. The crash remains under investigation by Sheriff’s Deputies Alec Preadmore, Cody Carena, and Steve Warren of the Traffic Services Division.
Anyone with information is asked to call 734-240-7548.