Birmingham pedestrian death: 86-year-old driver faces no criminal charges
Jerry Driscoll was killed in May while walking his dogs; the driver cited for civil infractions remains licensed and will not be charged.
By Marco Whitaker ·
An 86-year-old woman will not face criminal charges for killing a 60-year-old Birmingham man in May, according to the Lapeer County Prosecutor's Office.
Jerry Driscoll was walking his two dogs on the morning of May 11 when he was struck by a vehicle turning from Bates Road onto 14 Mile Road. He died at the hospital.
The driver told police she had just picked up coffee at a nearby shop. She claimed she did not see Driscoll until he was halfway down the block. At that point, she applied the brakes and stopped. She reached into her purse to call 911. The driver stated she called the emergency number three times before realizing she could not hear the response. She explained to officers that she is deaf and wears a cochlear implant, which she had left at her home.
Court records from Oakland County show the driver has received multiple citations for civil driving infractions in recent years. Her family says she still holds a valid driver's license.
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Driscoll, Jerry's 21-year-old daughter, was home from Grand Valley State University for summer break when the accident happened. A neighbor shook her awake around 8:30 a.m. to tell her her father was in an accident. She went to the hospital and asked to see him. Her mother hugged her and told her Jerry had died.
"I immediately collapsed to the ground. Sobbing," Lizzy said. She was planning to study abroad in Italy that summer. The plans were canceled. Her father had been a stay-at-home dad when she was young and later worked for the Birmingham school district.
Lizzy believes the system failed to protect her family. "This is the problem," she said. "The fact that nobody is brave enough to say, 'You're 86, you're 90, you're however old they are, you have cognitive delays, you have whatever the reasoning may be, you should not be on the road.' But, nobody has the bravery to say that. And we need to."
The case moved to Lapeer County because of a conflict of interest in Oakland County. The Lapeer County Prosecutor's Office told the family no charges would be filed. The office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WDIV ClickOnDetroit.
