Flint police seek damaged car in fatal Dort Highway hit-and-run

A woman walking along North Dort Highway on a Saturday evening was struck by a northbound driver who fled the accident. At about 8:55 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, Flint police were called to the highway near Nebraska Avenue on the city's north side and found the woman dead at the scene.

North Dort Highway is not a side street. It is M-54, the state trunkline running north-south through northeastern Flint — the road people here drive to get to work, school, and the store every day.

The driver did not remain at the scene, and Flint police are investigating the woman's death as a fatal hit-and-run.

What the damaged car looks like

Flint police's Traffic Bureau said investigators believe the suspect vehicle has heavy front-end damage on the driver's side. The car's color, make, and model are still unknown, so that damage is what police are asking the public to look for: any vehicle with heavy front-end damage on its driver's side, anywhere around town.

Days later, still no arrest

The woman's name and age had not been released publicly as of Oct. 5, so the neighbors who drive that stretch of Dort still do not know who was taken from the roadway. Police had announced no arrest and described the hit-and-run investigation as active and ongoing. Investigators had not yet determined whether speed, alcohol, or drugs were factors in the crash.

Who to call

Flint police named Detective Lieutenant Randy Matteson as the investigating contact for the case. Anyone who saw the crash or who knows anything about the vehicle can call Matteson at (810) 237-6816, or stay anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), using the P3 Tips mobile app, or visiting the Crime Stoppers website. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at P3Tips.com/488.

Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards of $50 to $2,500 for anonymous tips that lead to a felony arrest — up to $2,500 for an unsolved homicide — and tipsters stay anonymous, collecting any reward in cash with a tip number.

If you drive Dort or the streets around it, look at the cars around you. One with heavy front-end damage on the driver's side may be the only link between the woman who died and the driver who left her.