87-year-old getting mail is killed by dirt bike, MI cops say. Teen and parents charged
The sun had set in Michigan by the time an 87-year-old man went to get his mail on March 1.
Flashlight in hand, he walked toward the shoulder of a country road in Presque Isle County to check his mailbox, Michigan State Police said.
A 15-year-old was driving a dirt bike on the same side of the road without his headlights on and crashed into the man on the shoulder, police said in a March 24 news release posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
The man was airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and died days later, on March 5, officials said. The teen was not injured.
Now, the teen and his parents are facing criminal charges related to the deadly accident.
The teen was charged as a juvenile with involuntary manslaughter, homicide-manslaughter with a motor vehicle, reckless driving causing death, moving violation causing death and driving reckless, state troopers said. He was apprehended and appeared in a March 15 hearing.
The driver’s parents were both arrested March 14, the same day as their son, and charged with allowing a child under 16 years of age to operate an off-road vehicle, police said.
The mother was given a $2,000 bond, and the father was given a $3,500 bond, according to officials. They are scheduled to appear in court April 1.
Presque Isle is about a 250-mile drive northwest from Detroit.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM with the headline "87-year-old getting mail is killed by dirt bike, MI cops say. Teen and parents charged."
