Crime & Safety

Chesterfield Police Investigating Man Whose Car Fatally Pinned Woman

The 36-year-old Macomb Township woman who died early Saturday morning in Chesterfield Township was identified by police Monday.

A Clinton Township man whose attempt to help a stranded accidentally killed her early Saturday submitted to blood testing for alcohol and drug use, Chesterfield police said Monday.

Township police are investigating the incident with the possibility of submitting charges to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office for review. If toxicology results show the driver was under the influence, some potential charges could include  operating while intoxicated causing death or reckless driving resulting in death, Chesterfield Detective Sgt. Deron Myers said.

"It's unfortunate," Myers said of what he called a freak accident. "He went there with good intentions, but it resulted in a death so we're definitely obligated to put it before the prosecutor."

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More details from the early Saturday morning accident were also released Monday, such as the fact the 36-year-old stranded motorist—identified as Debra Jo Gonzalez—and 24-year-old unidentified Clinton Township man knew each other. After her car went into a ditch around 3 a.m. at Sugarbush and Cotton, she called him for help. He was apparently at a friend's house nearby, Myers said.

When the man arrived to the scene, he attempted to tow out her Saturn station wagon with his Ford Explorer. However, the Explorer slid down the ditch, pinning her between the two vehicles, he said.

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After receiving a 911 call from the man, police and fire units were able to separate the vehicles to free Gonzalez, but it was too late. She was pronounced dead at the scene.


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