NEWTON TOWNSHIP, MI— A downstate man has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of a Crystal Falls man in Mackinac County Monday night.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 9:05 p.m. to US-2 near East Milakokia Lake Road in Newton Township. A westbound pickup truck had passed another vehicle at a high rate of speed when it struck Douglas Raymond Nelson, Jr., 40, of Crystal Falls.
At the time of the crash, Nelson was checking his vehicle, which was legally parked on the side of the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the suspect vehicle, Eric Gilmour, 34, of Grand Blanc, continued westbound on US-2 for several miles before it stopped on the side of the road. Off-duty police officers who had witnessed the crash followed Gilmour and detained him until local police arrived.
Gilmour was taken to Mackinac Straits Hospital for treatment and later lodged in the Mackinac County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
He's charged with operating under the influence, causing death and failure to stop at the scene of an accident when at fault, resulting in death.
Deputies believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, which remains under investigation.
Assisting at the scene were Newton Township Fire, Garfield Township Fire, Portage Township EMS, MDOT, and MSP Troopers from the St. Ignace, Manistique, and Sault Ste. Marie Posts.
