Identity, more details of Saturday morning pedestrian fatality released.

August 11, 2019

Identity, more details of Saturday morning pedestrian fatality released.

#MasonCountyNews.

AMBER TOWNSHIP — The Mason County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman killed early Saturday morning while walking on US 10/31 as Cecilia Knowles, 25, of Walkerville. According to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, the crash occurred about 3:08 a.m. on Aug. 10 just west of Dennis Road. Knowles was apparently walking eastbound on the roadway when she was struck by an eastbound 2004 KIA passenger vehicle. The KIA was traveling in the right lane and was being driven by a 51-year-old Branch man, who was uninjured in the incident. 

Cole said an investigation by the sheriff’s office has revealed that Knowles was a passenger in a friend’s vehicle that was eastbound on US 10/31 when she began to argue with the driver.

The driver of that vehicle alleges Ms. Knowles punched him in the face and he had an injury to his face to support that claim,” Coles said.  “Ms. Knowles got out of the vehicle in the Burger King parking lot around 2:30 a.m. and allegedly refused to get back in, despite several attempts by the driver to encourage her to do so.  The driver of this vehicle then left the scene and Ms. Knowles. At 3:01 a.m., a vehicle traveling eastbound on US10 had to swerve to miss the female who was walking in the road. This motorist called 911 after attempting to get Ms. Knowles to get off the road but she refused to do so.”

Three deputies, on a domestic call in the 3900 block of N. US 31, were notified of the person walking in the road at 3:04 a.m., Cole said. “A deputy at that call cleared at 3:04 a.m. and responded to that area of US10/31 and Dennis Road. Four minutes later, as the deputy was heading west on the highway from the US 31 bypass west of Scottville, Knowles was struck and killed by the KIA, totally unrelated to the previous events.   

The passenger of the KIA, a 34 year-old Branch woman, was treated at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.  

Emergency units responding to the scene included Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Pere Marquette Township Fire Department and Life EMS.

This is the second fatal traffic crash to have occurred in that area in just over a week.

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