"I Want Her Arrested": Kalamazoo Family Mourns Son Killed in Hit-and-Run

*KALAMAZOO, Mich.* — A family is demanding justice after a driver hit and killed their loved one in Kalamazoo and sped away.

The crash happened just before 6:30 p.m. on April 14 when the driver of a black Jeep Grand Cherokee turned in front of 28-year-old Azariah Smith on Gull Road and hit him, according to the Township of Kalamazoo Police Department. Smith was thrown from his motorcycle and taken to the hospital, where he later died.

"I want her arrested, I want her to be lodged in jail, It's not fair," Samantha McCoy said. McCoy is Smith's fiancé.

Smith, 28, was a father of three and a partner of 11 years. His youngest child, 5-month-old Vanessa, never met her father.

"Last person he kissed was the baby," Samantha McCoy said.

The driver of the Jeep sped away before police and medics arrived. They were found at their home, but no arrests have been made due to an ongoing investigation, police said.

"So we have crash reconstruction, we have toxicology results and other things that we'll be waiting for from our laboratory specialists," Darien Smith, lieutenant with Kalamazoo Township Police Department, said. "We just can't speed that process up."

Samantha McCoy said she started dinner for Smith that afternoon. She felt something was wrong about an hour later. Her phone showed Beacon Hospital had one person there with a motorcycle accident.

"I knew Azariah wouldn't just go to a hospital on his motorcycle, I knew he got into an accident," McCoy said.

She sat in the hospital waiting room for two-and-a-half hours before being told by doctors that Smith died.

"To leave someone in the road to die with no remorse, there's just so much anger I have, so much anger," McCoy said.

It's been a week since Smith died, and McCoy has been trying to stay strong for their three kids: 10-year-old Caitlyn, 9-year-old Azariah Jr. and 5-month-old Vanessa.

"He loved to fish and he loved to hunt, but his number one thing was being a dad," she said.

Smith loved being a dad and was always there for their kids, according to McCoy.

"He loved to fish and he loved to hunt, but his number one thing was being a dad," she said. "Last person he kissed was the baby."

As McCoy anxiously waits for justice, she's thankful for two bystanders who comforted Smith right after the crash.

"It was everything, because of course that's the first thing I asked myself, was he alone?" McCoy said. "I think that's the only thing that has brought me comfort is those two individuals that didn't let him be alone."

Smith's family is holding a vigil near the Speedway gas station on Gull Road at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in his memory.

Anyone with information about this hit-and-run is asked to contact the Township of Kalamazoo Police Department at (269) 567-7522 or Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch at (269) 488-8911.

Sources:

  • https://wwmt.com/news/local/hit-and-run-gull-road-motorcyclist-killed-jeep-cherokee-azariah-smith-justice-speedway-gas-station-accountability-kalamazoo-township-police
  • https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/kalamazoo/vigil-held-for-father-who-died-in-kalamazoo-township-hit-and-run-crash
  • https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/04/motorcyclist-killed-in-hit-and-run-crash-vehicle-found-at-home.html