A 42-year-old Pontiac woman was critically injured Thursday evening after a car struck her as she pushed a cart loaded with personal belongings across Baldwin Avenue near Yale Avenue. The crash happened shortly after 6 p.m., and investigators say the streetlights in that stretch of road were not working at the time.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, cited by mlive.com, a 25-year-old Holly woman was driving a 2012 Kia Forte south on Baldwin Avenue when her car struck the pedestrian, who was walking east across the roadway. The woman was pushing a cart containing numerous personal belongings at the moment of impact. CBS Detroit reported the collision occurred at about 6:09 p.m., with sunset in southeast Michigan that evening falling around 5:13 p.m.
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies and personnel from STAR EMS responded to the scene and provided emergency medical care before the injured woman was transported to McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office described her as being in grave condition, and CBS Detroit reported that authorities were unable to immediately locate a family member to notify.
Streetlights Were Out When the Crash Happened
Preliminary findings indicate the streetlights along that section of Baldwin Avenue were not operational at the time of the crash, leaving the crossing without its intended illumination. Investigators also determined that the driver was wearing her seat belt, the mlive.com report notes. Deputies said driver distraction appears to have been a contributing factor in the collision, while speed, alcohol and drugs do not appear to have played a role.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office Crash Reconstruction Unit was continuing its investigation as of Friday's reports, and the Sheriff's Office Drone Unit assisted with aerial mapping and documentation of the crash scene, per the same account. No further findings or charges had been announced in the available reporting.
Part of a Troubling Pattern on Pontiac Streets
Statewide, pedestrian-involved crashes in Michigan climbed every year from 2020 through 2024, rising from 1,682 crashes to 2,131, according to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts. The same analysis found that dark lighting conditions factored into 43 percent of pedestrian crashes statewide during that period, and into 71.4 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes. The 6 p.m. hour — close to when Thursday's crash occurred — saw the highest concentration of pedestrian crashes of any hour, at 7.8 percent, the report found.
Baldwin Avenue in particular has seen repeated tragedy. Pontiac officials told ClickOnDetroit the city recorded two pedestrian deaths this year and six the year before, prompting plans for illuminated crosswalks, lower speed limits and a reconfiguration of Auburn Avenue down to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. The city had already begun adding improvement projects to Baldwin and Virginia avenues after earlier pedestrian deaths in that corridor, according to the same report.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office separately announced plans to boost patrols in Pontiac after what it called a rash of pedestrian-involved crashes, five of which had proven fatal, as reported by The Detroit News. Among the earlier Baldwin Avenue cases: 82-year-old Larry Gene Howard died in October 2025, days after being struck crossing near Walton Boulevard, and CBS News reported two fatal hit-and-run crashes within blocks of each other on Baldwin Avenue, both involving a Jeep and occurring after 11 p.m. — one killing 43-year-old Thomas Cummings and another killing 48-year-old Frank Tyson, who was riding a bicycle.
