Pedestrian death
A 75-year-old Clarkston man died from injuries after he was struck by a pickup truck Dec. 3 as he crossed N. Lapeer Road (M-24) south of Burnside Road in Deerfield Township.
Gerald Avery parked his vehicle in the parking lot of the Deerfield Plaza and was crossing the roadway to attend a surprise party at a home on the west side of M-24.
He was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by a 48-year-old North Branch woman who was travelling southbound on M-24. The crash was reported at 7:14 p.m.
Avery was transported to McLaren Lapeer Region by Lapeer County EMS, and later transferred to Hurley Medical Center in Flint where he died Sunday from his injuries.
The driver of the pickup truck was not injured. The collision occurred after dark and there was no street lighting available.
Preliminary investigation by the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office suggests that neither alcohol nor excessive speeds were factors in this collision.
It is not expected that the North Branch woman will face any charges for the incident.
— Lapeer County Press

Vehicle break-in
Back around 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, a deputy responded to the 5800 block of Upland Drive for a report of a vehicle break-in.
A man said he was driving a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, his family member’s vehicle, visiting from out of town.
The vehicle was parked in front of the apartment complex and was broken into between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. The driver-side window was smashed out and the steering wheel had been removed. Nothing else was missing.
No surveillance cameras were observed at the complex.

Vehicle break-in, take 2
A deputy responded to the 5800 block of Upland Drive just after 1 p.m. on Dec. 7 for the report of a vehicle break-in.
The victim, a Clarkston woman, said she parked her car outside the unit and this morning, she found the passenger-side window busted out. She did not believe anything was taken.
There are no suspects and no witnesses.

Drunk driving
Just before 7 p.m. on Dec. 8, a call went out to watch for a drunk driver in the area of Waldon Road and Main Street.
A deputy found a Chevrolet HHR parked running in the roadway on Almond Lane and approached the driver’s side, asking the male driver for his license, registration and insurance.
He only had a license that was cut in half with “void” stamped on it.
The man had slurred speech, watery, bloodshot eyes, and a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the car, which had two other men in it. The driver could not stand on his own or take direction.
His preliminary breath test at 7:20 p.m. read .268 and he was arrested for operating while intoxicated.
The vehicle was driven home by his girlfriend, who said he has a history of drinking and she was worried he was cheating on her.
The man was taken to McLaren Clarkston for a blood test, and then to Oakland County Jail. He also had a bump on head from an incident the previous night.
The case is open pending blood results.

Street signs damaged
Back on Dec. 6 just after 11 a.m., a deputy was called to the 5000 block of Low Meadow Road for a damaged property report.
The caller said that sometime during the overnight hours of Dec. 4-5, a vehicle left the roadway of Clarkston Road and hit two street signs, which were uprooted and propelled into privacy fencing, damaging two sections of fencing and one fence post.
Part numbers on vehicle debris left at the scene indicate that the responsible vehicle is a 2011-2016 Ford F250 Superduty XLT pickup of unknown color.
The Road Commission for Oakland County was notified of the damage to the signs.