A Lake Orion man accused of a hit-and-run crash that killed an Auburn Hills man last year has opted out of trial.
At a recent hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court, 35-year-old Kenneth Briddnell Carroll pleaded no contest to nine crimes connected to the June 6, 2024 crash that resulted in the death of Thomas Jerome Fisher, 68. The collision happened on Walton Boulevard near Perry Street in Auburn Hills, and also caused critical injuries to Carroll’s passenger.
Carroll is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18 by Judge Yasmine Poles for reckless driving causing death — a 15-year felony — as well as reckless driving causing serious impairment of bodily function, narcotics possession, fleeing and eluding, failing to stop after the crash and driving without a valid license.
According to police, Carroll fled after crashing a Kia Forte into a Ford F-150 pickup truck, trapping Fisher in the Ford F-150. Fisher was subsequently extricated and transported to an area hospital where he died, police said.
Moments before the crash, an Auburn Hills patrol officer had pursued the Kia after witnessing it speeding south on Lapeer Road and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver — later identified as Carroll — accelerated and fled, reportedly reaching speeds up to 88 mph. The officer reportedly chased the Kia for approximately a quarter mile before ending the pursuit. Further down the roadway, the officer discovered the collision, police said.
Carroll was arrested after a citizen reported seeing him in a wooded area approximately a half-mile from the crash site, police said. When he was arrested, Carroll was in possession of a controlled substance, police said.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. It can also offer some liability protection in civil cases.
Carroll’s criminal history includes convictions for aggravated domestic violence and probation violation. Since his arrest, he’s been held in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond.
Fisher’s obituary states he was the father of two, an accomplished musician and “a successful and premier interior painter” with his own business. He grew up in Birmingham