A beloved pastor was brutally murdered during his morning walk after being hit by a driver who was allegedly in the country illegally.
Stephen Singleton, a 72-year-old devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, was wearing a reflective vest and crossing a marked crosswalk on Nov. 3 when he was fatally struck around 6:45 a.m. in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills.
According to the family’s GoFundMe, he was left with “almost every bone in his body broken,” organ and brain damage and requiring extensive surgery.
On November 8, he was declared brain dead and taken off support.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the driver was a 28-year-old Colombian citizen who was not legally in the United States.
The driver had a valid foreign driver’s license, which is an accepted form of identification in Michigan, as reported by FOX2 Detroit.
His heartbroken wife, Teri Singleton, told the outlet about the moment she learned of the tragic news.
“I had to watch my husband of 53 years die in front of my eyes and then know that the person who did this is walking around is very difficult to deal with,” she said.
Stephen Singleton, a 72-year-old devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, was wearing a reflective vest and crossing a marked crosswalk on Nov. 3 when he was fatally struck around 6:45 a.m. in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the driver was a 28-year-old Colombian citizen who was not legally in the United States (Photo: Stephen Singleton)
“Almost every bone in his body was broken,” she added. ‘He had broken his collarbone, internal organ damage and his skull was cracked. He had two craniotomies in the hospital.”
But worst of all, she said, was the fact that the driver entered the U.S. illegally and was released pending a future federal court date.
“He’s dead and they’re walking around. That bothers me,” Teri told FOX 2.
“He was a loving person who cared about everyone,” Teri Singleton said. “I mean, the whole neighborhood, everyone in our community has come to my door. They didn’t even see the name on the report, but knew him because of his habits.’
Police have confirmed that the victim was in a designated pedestrian crossing and was wearing high-visibility clothing at the time of the incident.
The vehicle, a 2013 Ford Focus, was reportedly so damaged it had to be towed from the scene. Singleton was reportedly hit so hard that he was thrown through the windshield, breaking it.
Singleton’s granddaughter, Allie, put one GoFundMe to help cover her grandmother’s expenses and to tell the public what a special man her beloved grandfather was.
“He was the product of loving parents who taught him God’s love, compassion and care, he had fifteen siblings and a host of adopted siblings and was married for fifty-three years to the love of his life, my grandmother, Teri.
According to the family’s GoFundMe, he was left with “almost every bone in his body broken,” organ and brain damage and requiring extensive surgery.
“He was a father to the fatherless, but also to all his nieces and nephews and to every child in all the neighborhoods he visited.”
Allie spoke about her grandfather’s volunteer work with New York’s search and rescue team and 911 triage area, as well as the ‘NAACP mission to Africa, where he baptized a baby born in a tree during the floods and sent to returned home with an empty suitcase because he gave away all his clothes.’
“During Hurricane Katrina and a tornado in Alabama, he drove a van filled with water, tools, personal care items and medical supplies on a solo mission to provide aid to victims.”
He also sponsored a 5k Run to raise money for the African American History Museum in Detroit, advocated for children with disabilities to be allowed to compete on his basketball team, and much more.
“Besides his family, one of his greatest joys was helping. He touched many lives and gave freely to all. As pastoral minister for the Archdiocese of Detroit, he has presided over hundreds of human funerals over the past 52 years,” she wrote.