Family mourns Oak Park woman killed in hit and run; elderly driver arrested

OAK PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - A suspect is in custody in connection to a fatal Oak Park hit and run that killed a 59-year-old woman.

Investigators say the victim was talking to them after she got hit and said she had trouble breathing -  she later died at a hospital from her injuries.

Investigators at the oak park department of public safety tell us the driver of a Red Dodge Journey kept going and never stopped. Now the sister-in-law— who asked us not to identify her —  is sick with grief.

In the meantime, her family is just beginning to mourn the tragic, heartbreaking loss.

"What happened to her, it (broke my heart) for somebody to hit her and keep going," said her sister-in-law.

Surveillance video captured the moments before the Oak Park woman was hit and killed as she crossed the street at a crosswalk.

Sergeant Walter Duncan says Oak Park Public Safety changed training schedules so every investigator could focus on this case. They ran the SUV's license plate and arrested a suspect — an elderly Oak Park woman— Tuesday evening.

The victim's sister-in-law was with her and says they were walking home from the Family Dollar on Coolidge near 10 Mile when the unthinkable happened Monday night.

"We proceeded to walk when the (signal) came up to let us know it was time to walk," she said. "All of a sudden he just ran the light like he hit her once, and then he hit her again, by rolling over her.

"I don’t know what to do, I’m so traumatized. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep."

Duncan said finding the suspect was the department's top priority.

"We are here for the community, anytime we get a case - especially major case like this and we can close it out and bring closure to the family - that’s what we’re here for," he said.

Now as the woman's family begins to get closure, they remember their loved one's kindness she shared with the world.

"She was a kind, sweet person," her sister in law said. "She was never mean, never evil. She was the sweetest person someone would ever want to know."