Pedestrian killed on Southfield Freeway - Detroit Free Press

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DETROIT

A 27-year-old Detroit man was killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking Saturday night on the Southfield Freeway in Detroit.

Police said the man, whose name was not released, was in the center lane at Schoolcraft Road when he was struck by a northbound vehicle. It is unclear why the driver didn't stop or why the man was on the freeway at 9 p.m.

"He was walking," said Lt. Michael Shaw, Michigan State Police spokesman.

Police did not find a vehicle nearby that belonged to the man. He was taken to Sinai-Grace Hospital and later died of his injuries.

No description was available of the car that hit him, Shaw said.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call the State Police Metro Post at 248-584-5740.

DETROIT

Woman stabbed to death

Detroit police are searching for suspects in the stabbing death of a 43-year-old woman in northeast Detroit.

Sgt. Eren Stephens said a family member found the woman unconscious at about 1:05 p.m. Sunday at the family home in the 18700 block of McCormick.

"The victim had received deep laceration wounds to the body and has died," Stephens said in a statement.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit police homicide at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAKUP (800-773-2587).

BRIGHTON

Victims identified in plane crash

Police have released the names of the victims of a plane crash Saturday near the Brighton Airport.

Passenger Ana Ortega, 56, of Costa Rica died at the scene, Michigan State Police said Sunday. Police did not have information on her hometown.

The pilot, Walter Davenport, 79, of Brighton was critically injured and taken to the University of Michigan Hospitals. He was listed in serious condition Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

The plane -- a 1940s, single-engine plane -- crashed on the edge of Woodland Lake in a swampy area about a quarter-mile from the small airport in Brighton Township.

Emergency workers used axes and chain saws to make a path through the swamp to the plane, police said.

A 911 caller said the plane's engine "sounded funny and then the plane crashed." It happened about 8:30 a.m. Saturday shortly after takeoff.

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Michigan

SUTTONS BAY

Floatilla record try under scrutiny

Suttons Bay Floatilla volunteers and boaters will have to wait until Tuesday to know whether they paddled into the Guinness World Records. It will take magnifying glasses to find out.

A tally of 2,049 colorful kayaks and canoes taken Saturday has to be verified because a wind came up just as the 30-second count was being taken, said Mike Murray, Suttons Bay Schools superintendent.

The wind caused some kayakers and canoeists to drift away from the count circle and then come back into it. Organizers have to make sure they weren't counted twice.

The verification count will be taken by studying an aerial photograph with magnifying glasses, which is the way Guinness does it, Murray said.

Inlet, N.Y., holds the current record of 1,902, set last September. Suttons Bay's goal was 2,000 registered boaters. Only registered kayaks and canoes can be counted.

The total number of boats registered and the amount raised by the fund-raiser also were unknown Saturday because organizers had no time to add last-minute paper registrations taken Thursday and Friday. Registration fees benefit the Suttons Bay Schools Activities Fund.

"However, the count turns out, the Floatilla was a wonderful thing," organizer Kate Thornhill said. "We all had fun and a great time."

LELAND

Drought hurting lake levels

As the drought contributes to a continued drop in the level of Lake Michigan, residents, fishing operators and others who use the harbors and docks in the northwestern Lower Peninsula are facing hazards and hassles.

The lake's water levels are down 11 inches from 2011, and record-low levels could be ahead if the drought persists. Those affected by the dropping water levels include lakefront property owners on Grand Traverse Bay, as well as commercial fishing operators such as Joel Peterson, who fishes out of Leland and Muskegon.

Leland Harbor's south break-wall is deteriorating, and boaters must avoid hitting bottom on the Leland River, said Peterson. "It means we can't carry as much on the boat anymore," Petersen told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. "We often carry four nets, and when they are wet, they are heavy. Now we can only carry two, so it takes us twice as long and costs more money."

Lake Michigan now is 23 inches below the long-term average, said Mark Breederland, an extension educator for the Michigan Sea Grant. Lakes Michigan and Huron are in the midst of a decade-long stretch of below-average water levels, said hydrologist Keith Kompoltowicz at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Detroit District. The corps has forecast water-level ranges for Lake Michigan that may break the record low, set in 1964.