A man died Monday after being struck by a car on Interstate 275 in Canton Township while walking on the freeway, Michigan State Police said.
Canton police officers at 7:55 p.m. informed troopers about a fatal crash involving a pedestrian on southbound I-275 near Palmer Road. Troopers arrived at the scene and began investigating.
According to their preliminary investigation, an 18-year-old motorist parked his car on the freeway’s right shoulder, exited the vehicle, and walked into the traffic lanes.
Police said one driver swerved and avoided striking the man, but a second vehicle couldn’t avoid him and struck the pedestrian while in the freeway’s middle lane.
Officials said the drivers of both vehicles remained at the scene of the crash.
Medics were called and pronounced the victim, a Garden City resident, dead.
“Troopers will interview family members to determine why the pedestrian walked into the roadway,” MSP First Lt. Mike Shaw said on X. “Remember, you are not alone. If you are struggling, there are people to talk to. Contact friends, police, medical staff, clergy, or the 988 crisis hotline. There is always help available.”
Last week, Michigan State Police said 24 people died on state roadways over the previous seven days, raising the total number of traffic fatalities to 795 this year.
Officials said 159 people were seriously injured on Michigan roads during the same period. So far this year, 4,210 people have been injured on the state’s roads.
Compared to last year at this time, there are four more fatalities and 62 fewer serious injuries.
Monday’s crash is among the latest to involve a pedestrian in Metro Detroit.
Last week, an 82-year-old Pontiac man died, five days after he was struck by a truck while crossing a Pontiac street. Authorities said it marked the sixth time a pedestrian was fatally struck in Pontiac in 2025.
The week before that, a pedestrian was killed in a crash on Interstate 75 in Auburn Hills.
Last month, a Romeo man was critically injured when a vehicle hit him on 32 Mile Road in Washington Township.
Motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the first half of the year were down 7.9% in Michigan, less than an 8.2% national decrease, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last month.
In all of 2024, an estimated 1,047 people died in vehicle crashes in Michigan, according to the agency.
Michigan saw 2,114 crashes between vehicles and pedestrians in 2023, according to the latest state police statistics available. Of those, 179 were fatal and caused 183 deaths. That compares with 1,897 total crashes involving pedestrians the previous year. Of those, 172 were fatal crashes, and 173 people died.
In 2023, Wayne County recorded 686 crashes involving pedestrians, with 60 of those fatal. The county had the most pedestrian-involved crashes and fatal crashes involving pedestrians in the state that year.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez

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