Keego harbor police close in on hit-and-run case

KEEGO HARBOR — The Keego Harbor Police Department has shared an update from a hit-and-run incident that occurred earlier this year.

According to a previous report from Keego Police Chief John Fitzgerald, at approximately 7:40 p.m. Feb. 16, a resident was intentionally hit by the driver of a black Mercedes Benz outside of El Camino Restaurant, located at 2807 Orchard Lake Road.

The vehicle’s occupants, reported to be a white male and a white female in their mid-to-late 50s or early 60s, had been inside the restaurant, and after having a dispute about the bill and the service, left without paying.

As the vehicle started to drive away, one of the restaurant’s servers went outside to confront the pair in the vehicle.

“According to the server, the couple laughed at her when she told them they had to pay the rest of their bill,” the report stated. “The vehicle was stopped as she was standing in front of it. The driver backed up and maneuvered to drive around her. She placed herself in front of the vehicle again, at which time the driver knocked her down with the vehicle, ran over her legs and proceeded to flee southwest-bound on Orchard Lake Road, towards the city of Orchard Lake.”

A partial license plate was given. The server was transported to a hospital, where it was learned that she had suffered serious injuries to her legs.

A recent Keego Police Department Facebook post reports that over the course of the last several months, Detective Robert Barnes has been sorting through dozens of vehicles matching the suspect description, eliminating all but one, and has been able to develop a prime suspect.

The investigation has reportedly led to the identification of the suspect vehicle, a suspected driver, and an identification from another eyewitness aside from the victim herself.

“The recently located witness got a good look at the driver and was able to identify the suspect,” the post states. “Detective Barnes is expecting to request arrest warrants in a matter of days.  The case will be submitted to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for a determination of proper criminal charges.”

Anyone with further information can call Barnes at (248) 682-3030 or send an email to barnes@khpd.org.

“This is just a reminder that cases don’t get solved in an hour like on TV crime shows,” the Facebook post states.  “It takes a while, with diligent effort, to put it together the right way. We are relatively confident one of those jail cell beds will become occupied due to the hard work of Detective Barnes with the assistance of Officer’s (Robert) Alonzi and (Kevin) Oliver.”

The Facebook post included a picture of the inside of a jail cell.