A Canton Township teen is facing up to 15 years in prison in connection to the death of a Van Buren Township resident in 2019.
Micaiah Minor admitted his guilt to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the May 2019 automobile collision that took the life of John Robert McElreath, 64. Prosecutors had originally charged the 19-year-old with second-degree homicide but in a plea deal, Minor agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge and the more serious charges was dismissed by the court July 21.
Prosecutors claim that Minor, 17 at the time of the crash, did not have a drivers' license when found, injured, in his damaged vehicle, at 2:30 a.m. May 7, 2019. According to police reports, Minor sped through a red light on Belleville Road, crossed over the double yellow line and struck a northbound car near the Ecorse Road intersection. When Van Buren Township police officers responded to the scene, they found McElreath, 64, in his significantly damaged vehicle in an open grass field in the area, where it stopped after the collision. McElreath was transported by emergency medical services to a nearby hospital, where he died from the injuries sustained in the crash.
Minor was also transported to the hospital from the scene for treatment of injuries.
Minor will be sentenced on the lesser charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 15-years in prison, on Sept. 29 in Third Circuit Court.
