Ann Arbor police have released more information on the crash that killed a 70-year-old city resident as she walked across Ann Arbor-Saline Road at Oakbrook Drive Friday evening.
Sgt. Bill Clock said Menghua Tian, of Ann Arbor, was killed while crossing from the west side of Ann Arbor-Saline Road to the east. She was struck by a pickup truck heading north on Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Clock said.
A pedestrian crosses Ann Arbor Saline Road at Oakbrook Drive Monday.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
“It was so dark when we got there, I think I got there at about 6:30 p.m.,” Clock said. “It was just horrible.”
Tian’s death has raised concerns among residents about the possible need for a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Ann Arbor-Saline Road and Oakbrook Drive. Officials within the city government said Tuesday they are considering various safety solutions in the area.
While the crash report isn’t finished yet, Clock said investigators will turn the case over to Washtenaw County prosecutors, who will then decide whether to charge the Horton man who was driving the pickup.
Clock said there are no speed estimates available yet and tests are still being done on the pickup. However, it doesn’t appear the man was speeding at the time of the crash.
“All witnesses said he was moving at the posted speed,” Clock said.
Clock said the vehicle had crested the hill near the Cranbrook Plaza shopping center and would have been visible to Tian when she was crossing.
The crash that killed Tian was the third in two days that ended with a fatality. Nineteen-year-old Yeltsin Gonzalez died Saturday from injuries he suffered in a crash Thursday morning on Hewitt Road in Ypsilanti Township, and Michele Ann LaDuke, 59 of Ypsilanti Township, died Thursday evening after being struck by a car on Golfside Drive in Pittsfield Township.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.