Police say a black Jeep Grand Cherokee turned in front of 28-year-old Azariah Smith on Gull Road and the driver left before officers arrived.
KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, MI — A woman who rushed to help a motorcyclist after a fatal hit-and-run on Gull Road said she held 28-year-old Azariah Smith in her arms and talked to him as paramedics were on the way after a black Jeep Grand Cherokee struck him Tuesday evening and sped off.
Smith’s death has become both a criminal investigation and a public point of grief in Kalamazoo Township, where witnesses, relatives and police are piecing together what happened just after 6:20 p.m. on April 14. Authorities say the driver was later located at home and the vehicle was found, but as of the latest public updates, no charges had been announced. The case now centers on what investigators can prove about the crash itself, the decision to flee, and what steps come next for Smith’s family, who say he leaves behind a fiancee and three children.
Police said the crash happened near the 3700 block of Gull Road, close to Nazareth Road and a Speedway gas station, as Smith rode east on his motorcycle. Investigators say a black Jeep Grand Cherokee turned in front of him, causing the collision. Witness Nicole Botimer said she saw the impact from nearby and ran over as other people reacted to the scene. “It was horrible,” Botimer said, describing the moment she realized Smith was badly hurt. She said he was not moving at first, and she panicked before trying to steady herself and help. Botimer said she stayed with him until paramedics arrived, holding him and speaking to him because, as she put it, she did not want him to be alone. Smith was taken to a hospital, where police said he later died from his injuries. The driver of the Jeep left before officers and medics got there, turning a deadly traffic collision into a hit-and-run investigation within minutes.
In the days after the crash, police identified Smith publicly and confirmed that the suspected vehicle was found at the driver’s home. That detail answered one immediate question — whether investigators had a vehicle to examine — but left larger ones unresolved. Authorities have not publicly detailed the identity of the driver, whether the person has been interviewed, or whether toxicology, phone records, surveillance video or witness statements will shape any charging decision. They also have not announced whether speed, distraction, visibility or right-of-way issues contributed to the crash. Botimer, who returned to the area later in the week, said the hardest part was replaying the scene in her mind. “Every time I close my eyes, that’s what I see,” she said. She also said the driver should have stopped and tried to help. Her account has put a human face on the final minutes after the crash, while police continue treating the case as an active investigation. Officials have asked anyone with information to contact township police or county dispatch, a sign that they are still working to fill in gaps in the timeline.
For Smith’s relatives, the story has moved beyond the roadway and into the daily shock that follows a sudden death. His fiancee of 11 years, Samantha Mccoy, told local television reporters that Smith was the family’s provider and a present father to their three children. She described him as “a great guy” and said the children had never gone this long without him. One of them, she said, is 5 months old. Her comments show the wider cost of a crash that, in public records so far, is still described mostly in the clipped language of traffic investigation: vehicle turns, rider struck, driver flees, victim dies. Families experience those same events very differently. They inherit funeral plans, lost income, unanswered questions and the burden of explaining an abrupt absence to children. In that sense, the case has touched two separate communities at once — the relatives who knew Smith at home, and the strangers who were forced into his final moments at the crash scene. Botimer said she feels deeply for the family. Mccoy, in turn, said she was grateful Smith was not alone when he was hurt.
Gull Road is one of the busier east-west routes in the Kalamazoo area, and crashes there can unfold quickly amid turns into businesses, cross traffic and steady vehicle flow. That context does not explain this collision on its own, but it helps explain why witnesses were present and why the scene drew immediate reaction. The crash happened in daylight hours, just before 6:30 p.m., when businesses in the corridor were still open and traffic was active. By Friday, the site had become a place of informal mourning. Botimer returned and placed crosses with flowers near the Speedway, turning a stretch of roadside into a visible marker of what happened there. Such roadside memorials are common after sudden traffic deaths, but each one carries its own local meaning. Here, the flowers and crosses underscored the distance between official procedure and public emotion. On one side is the methodical work of police: reconstruct the crash, inspect the vehicle, compare witness accounts, decide on charges if warranted. On the other is the emotional urgency expressed by people who saw the collision or knew Smith personally and want accountability to move faster.
Legally, the case appears to remain in the investigative stage. Police have said officers are still examining the circumstances of the crash and, in the latest published reports, had not made an arrest and had not announced criminal charges. In Michigan, a fatal hit-and-run case can involve several layers of review, including crash reconstruction, interviews, vehicle evidence and consultation with prosecutors before charges are filed. Publicly, police have not yet said when they expect to complete that work or whether a charging recommendation has already been submitted. That leaves several key milestones ahead: a possible arrest, a prosecutor’s review, any arraignment if charges are filed, and further release of evidence through court proceedings or police briefings. Until then, the known timeline is narrow but important. The crash occurred at about 6:22 p.m. April 14. Smith was transported to a hospital and later died. The Jeep was later located at a home. By April 17, witnesses and family members were speaking publicly, while police were still asking for tips. The next major development is likely to be a charging announcement or a more detailed investigative update from township authorities.
The scene described by witnesses was chaotic but intimate. Botimer said she jumped out quickly because someone had to help. Her comments did not read like a prepared statement; they sounded like the blunt recollection of a person still shaken by what she saw. That has given the story unusual emotional force. Even in communities where fatal crashes are reported with regularity, not every case includes a witness willing to describe the last moments so directly. At the memorial, the crosses and flowers stood as a quiet counterpoint to that testimony. They suggested both sorrow and insistence: sorrow for the life lost, insistence that the crash not fade into another brief police item. Smith’s family added another voice, describing a man they say was active in his children’s lives and central to the household. Those details do not settle fault, but they sharpen the stakes of the investigation. The public record still does not answer every question about the driver’s actions before and after impact. What it does show, clearly, is that Smith’s death has left witnesses haunted, relatives grieving and investigators under pressure to explain what happened and whether anyone will be held criminally responsible.
As of Monday, April 20, police had publicly said the investigation remained open, with no announced charges in the case. The next milestone is expected to be a formal update from Kalamazoo Township police or prosecutors on whether the driver will face charges tied to the fatal crash and the allegation that the driver fled the scene.
Author note: Last updated April 20, 2026.