Man sentenced for hit-and-run death of 5-year-old boy

MOUNT CLEMENS — The driver who police said hit a 5-year-old boy and left the scene of the crash on the border of Warren and Center Line in June 2021 has been ordered to serve 20 to 40 years in prison.

On Nov. 10, Maurice Sumler, 23, was sentenced by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski after being found guilty by a jury in September of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of an at-fault fatal accident and reckless driving causing death.

On June 29, 2021, at approximately 9:43 p.m., officers from Warren and Center Line were dispatched to the scene of a pedestrian accident on Van Dyke Avenue near the border of the two cities. When they arrived, they learned that a 5-year-old boy — identified as Preston Singleton — had been struck by a vehicle while crossing the road.

The child had reportedly been with an adult relative and some friends and was on his way back to his residence nearby.

Warren police said witnesses reported that the driver of a black Jeep Trailhawk had accelerated in what appeared to be an attempt to make it through a traffic light before it turned red. The Jeep reportedly struck the child and continued northbound on Van Dyke.

Singleton was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The ensuing investigation led Warren police to the Jeep, which had fresh front-end damage, at a Taco Bell near 16 Mile Road and Van Dyke. Sumler was found at a nearby gas station and reportedly admitted to being involved in an accident.

Sumler reportedly initially told officers he thought he hit a deer.

In a previous interview, Warren Police Lt. David Kriss said the driver “was late for work and he had to get to work.”

Sumler was originally charged only with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. But at a preliminary examination, Macomb County Prosecutor Kumar Palepu requested it be increased to second-degree murder, which was granted by District Court Judge Michael Chupa.

Sumler’s attorney, Steven Scharg, declined to comment.