On the morning of November 3, a prominent pastor from the Detroit region was killed after an undocumented immigrant from Colombia allegedly hit him with a car as he was out for a run.
The 72-year-old pastor went “out on his usual daily run,” according to his family’s GoFundMe page for him. He was wearing a reflective vest when he crossed the street at a crosswalk and “was hit by a man who ran through a red light.”
“This man was not legally in the country and possessed no license,” Singleton’s family stated. “[Singleton] was struck so hard that he was thrown on the windshield, breaking it. The car was damaged and had to be towed. He spoke the last words he would ever speak. He asked for my grandmother. Almost all his bones were broken. He had organ and brain damage and required extensive surgeries. The doctor placed him on life support. On November 8, 2024, he was declared brain dead and taken off support.”
In a news release issued on November 3, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office reported that the 72-year-old man was struck by a 28-year-old Colombian driver of a 2013 Ford Focus as he was crossing Rochester Road in Rochester Hills, a Detroit suburb. Additionally, authorities verified that Singleton was crossing the street at a recognized crosswalk and wearing a reflective vest at the time of his death.
The driver was released until a future hearing after U.S. Customs and Border Protection verified that the driver had entered the country unlawfully.
In Michigan, a foreign driver’s license is a legitimate form of identification, and the driver had one.
“I had to sit and watch my husband of 53 years die in front of me, and then to know that the person who did this is walking around is very difficult to deal with,” Teri Singleton, Stephen’s wife stated.
According to Singleton’s relatives, the pastor was a devoted family man who loved helping people and being active. His family said on GoFundMe that he had been married to “the love of his life” for 53 years and had 15 siblings.
He taught and participated in a variety of sports, rowed 200 miles year for charity, and raced big marathons including the New York and Boston ones.
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According to his family, Singleton devoted a significant portion of his life to serving others. He volunteered with a search and rescue team during the World Trade Center terror attacks on September 11, 2001, which was one of his most memorable experiences.
In order to pay for Singleton’s funeral and living expenses for his wife, who is partially crippled and relies on him “for day-to-day care,” the pastor’s family is asking for money, according to the GoFundMe.
As of Monday, no one had been arrested in the case. On Friday, authorities brought the matter before the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, which is now investigating it and will decide whether to charge the driver.
