A car abandoned in Galesburg led investigators to a Tennessee attic and a murder charge

The suspect vehicle in a deadly Kalamazoo hit-and-run was found abandoned in Galesburg last spring. The driver fled. Prosecutors now say the man behind the wheel faces second-degree murder charges.

Darqareion Damont Mills, 29, was arrested in Brownsville, Tennessee, after falling through a ceiling while hiding from the U.S. Marshals Service. Mills waived extradition on Tuesday and is expected to return to Kalamazoo for arraignment, according to Michigan court records.

The charges stem from a March 25 crash that killed Mark McBride on South Westnedge Avenue in Kalamazoo.

A night of speeding cars and a fatal crash

Witnesses told police they saw two cars traveling at high speed before one struck McBride, according to WWMT and AOL News. Neighbors told News 8 the scene resembled street racing, according to AOL News.

McBride died at the scene from what responding officers described as catastrophic injuries, according to AOL News.

A week after the crash, investigators found Mills's car unoccupied in Galesburg, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS). The driver was nowhere to be found.

"This arrest reflects the persistence of our investigators and the strength of our partnerships at the local, state, and federal level," Captain Danielle Guilds, head of the KDPS Criminal Investigations Division, said. "We remained committed to this case from the start, and we hope this brings a measure of accountability and closure to Mark's loved ones."

A suspect who fell through the ceiling

U.S. Marshals tracked Mills to a home in Brownsville, Tennessee, about 60 miles northeast of Memphis, according to Tampa Free Press. Officers found him hiding in an attic crawl space.

Mills refused to surrender. The ceiling gave way. He fell through the drywall into the living space below, where officers took him into custody, according to the U.S. Marshals Service in Memphis.

Mills faces two charges:

  • Second-degree murder
  • Failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death

If convicted of second-degree murder, Mills could face life in prison, according to FOX 17.

Mills already had a criminal history. Arrest records show he faced a warrant in February for a felony count of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer in Kalamazoo. He was also on probation after pleading guilty to fleeing police in Kent County in 2024, according to WWMT.

A father and grandfather left behind

McBride was a father of two and a grandfather, according to Tampa Free Press. He worked for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, according to the same source.

His younger brother, Adam McBride, described him as his lifelong best friend.

"His son is scheduled to graduate here in a few weeks and getting married next year, so a lot of big family events that he would have been right in the middle of," Adam McBride told WWMT. "It's hard to think about a void with him not being there."

Adam McBride said his brother was always giving of his time.

"He was helping people all week long doing his day job and then when he had free time, he was helped me. He was just always giving of his time," Adam McBride said.

KDPS continues to investigate the case. Anyone with information can contact the KDPS Criminal Investigations Division at 269-337-8139 or Kalamazoo Silent Observer at 269-343-2100, according to KDPS.