The death of a 41-year-old Bloomfield Township man who was struck and killed on I-696 last week was ruled a suicide by the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office.
Daniel Armitage, an Ann Arbor firefighter, died of multiple injuries when he was hit by at least three vehicles Thursday. Ruben Ortiz-Reyes, deputy medical examiner for Oakland County, said Monday that his office used information from police to help determine how Armitage died.
A funeral for Armitage is scheduled at 11 a.m. today at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church on Opdyke Road in Bloomfield Hills. Authorities told the Free Press last week that Armitage was the focus of a domestic assault investigation in Bloomfield Township. The incident occurred Jan. 1 at a home on Mohawk Court, but police said they will not release additional details until the investigation is complete.
Police also said last week that witnesses reported Armitage was lying in the right lane of traffic when he was hit. His white late-model BMW SUV was parked on the side of the road with its flashers on and the spare tire next to it on the shoulder.
State Police Trooper Paul Shunia said Friday the tire on the car did not appear to have any problems and had enough pressure to drive on it, but two lug nuts had been removed. He said the other lug nuts weren't loosened, and the jack was in the trunk. Typically during a tire change, all lug nuts are loosened and then the car is jacked up, he said.
Shunia could not be reached Monday by the Free Press.
The incident closed the westbound lanes of I-696 in Farmington Hills for more than six hours. A father and his two children also were injured when their car hit the median in a chain-reaction crash. They were expected to survive.
Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
