Official confirmed as driver in pedestrian fatality

Bloomfield Township Clerk Jan Roncelli, 71, was involved in a fatal pedestrian accident on Maple west of Coolidge in Birmingham at approximately 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 22, according to Bloomfield Township officials. On September 22 Birmingham police dispatch reported they received a 911 call from the driver, a female from Bloomfield Hills, who stated she hit a person while driving westbound on Maple. The driver told officers she passed through the intersection of Maple and Coolidge on a green light when she struck the pedestrian. Officers located a 30-year-old male from Birmingham who was laying in the roadway and had succumbed to his injuries. Roncelli reported she was coming home from working at a family business. Roncelli, who has been the township clerk since 2004 and is retiring in November, was driving a township-issued SUV at the time of the accident. According to Bloomfield Township Supervisor Leo Savoie, department heads issued township vehicles are permitted to drive township vehicles for non-township use as part of their compensation package. Township officials, at their evening meeting this past Monday, October 12, had issued a statement acknowledging that a township employee had been involved in a fatal vehicle accident in September but did not name the employee. Township attorney Derk Bekerleg stated the township had no further comment, citing attorney/client privilege. Based on tips over this past weekend from township residents, Downtown newsmagazine earlier this past Monday had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for Birmingham police accident reports and records, along with breathalyzer and toxicology reports for both Roncelli and the victim, and are awaiting a response. However, Savoie said that preliminary reports indicate there were no drugs or alcohol issues involving the driver, Roncelli.