A woman pleaded guilty to drunken driving causing death after striking and killing a 79-year-old man in a wheelchair in downtown Ann Arbor last year, then fleeing the scene.
Areli Beraza Vilchis entered the plea on Friday, Aug. 7, before Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Carol Kuhnke, according to MLive, which cited court records. She pleaded guilty to one count of operating while intoxicated causing death and one count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death.
A third charge, operating with a suspended license causing death, will be dismissed at sentencing.
The crash
Robert Murray, 79, was crossing East Huron Street at North Fourth Avenue in a wheelchair around 11:58 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, when the traffic signal changed, the Ann Arbor Police Department said. Beraza Vilchis, then 22, was driving east on East Huron Street when she struck Murray.
She fled before officers arrived.
Ann Arbor police provided medical aid at the scene. Murray died at the hospital.
Beraza Vilchis later turned herself in to police, the department said.
What's next
Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9, before Judge Kuhnke. Under Michigan statute, operating while intoxicated causing death is a class C felony carrying up to 15 years in prison and fines between $2,500 and $10,000.
Beraza Vilchis was released on a personal recognizance bond.
Community response
The crash drew immediate attention to pedestrian safety in downtown Ann Arbor. Two days after Murray's death, dozens of pedestrians and cyclists staged a die-in protest at the intersection of East Huron and North Fourth Avenue, according to MLive.
The city's Vision Zero initiative aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. As of a December 2024 city press release, the Ann Arbor Police Department identified three safety corridors on Washtenaw, Packard and Jackson for increased enforcement, noting that major streets account for 89% of severe and fatal crashes citywide.
Anyone with information about traffic safety concerns can contact the Ann Arbor Police Department at 734-794-6920 or the city's A2 Fix It reporting system.
