Man charged in crash that killed 2 women

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Jose Eugenio Medina-Hernandez, who resides in Westland, was arraigned in 41A District Court June 7 in connection with a traffic incident that killed two people in Shelby Township.

It is alleged that at 12:52 p.m. June 6, Medina-Hernandez, age 33, was driving an Enterprise box truck southbound on M-53 near 22 Mile Road in Shelby Township when he rear-ended a Buick Verano, which caused a chain reaction involving two other vehicles.

When Shelby Township police officers arrived, they discovered two severely injured occupants. The occupants of the Buick were 88-year-old Nancy Richmond and her daughter, 63-year-old Crystal Brunn, who were killed in the crash.

The initial police investigation determined that Medina-Hernandez was the at-fault driver. Medina-Hernandez, police said, failed to slow while driving in a construction area.

Sgt. Kevin Bailey, of the Community Service Unit at the Shelby Township Police Department, said it appears that Medina-Hernandez was traveling too fast in the construction zone on southbound M-53 just north of Hall Road.

Shelby Township police officers transported Medina-Hernandez to a local hospital to be checked out for injuries from the crash and later placed him under arrest for charges of moving violation causing death.

Medina-Hernandez was charged with two counts of moving violation causing death, which are one-year misdemeanors. Shelby Township District Court Magistrate James Verploeg set bond at $250,000 cash or surety.

Medina-Hernandez was unable to post bond and was lodged at the Macomb County Jail. His next court date is a pretrial hearing on June 25. His attorney, John J. Kennedy, could not immediately be reached.

“Our office is committed to ensuring that justice is served and that the responsible party is held accountable for their actions in this incident. We extend our deepest condolences to the families affected by this senseless loss,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a press release.