BIKER NEWS: Hearing set for driver in Chesterfield hit-and-run crash

BN- Prosecutors are scheduled to present evidence next week against a motorist accused of fleeing from a collision that critically injured two people riding a motorcycle in Chesterfield Township


Following a probable-cause conference this week in 42-2 District Court, a Sept. 9 preliminary exam was set to determine whether accused driver Miguel Barba, 34, should stand trial.


Barba, of Rochester Hills, faces two counts each of drunken driving causing serious injury and failing to stop at an accident that caused serious impairment or death.


Darrin Polansky, 44, of Warren was driving a motorcycle with his girlfriend, 41-year-old Shelley Frontera of Fraser as his passenger when he began turning from westbound 26 Mile Road to southbound Gratiot Avenue around 10:25 p.m. Aug. 22. They collided with a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup that was eastbound and driven by Barba, police added.

Detectives say the pickup driver continued east after the collision and dragged the motorcycle beneath the truck for approximately 600 yards along 26 Mile Road. Witnesses reported the driver stopped in the road, unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge the motorcycle from under the vehicle and then fled on foot, police said.


Officers searched the area for the pickup driver but were unable to locate him. Approximately 4 ½ hours later, Chesterfield Township officers found the suspect at a home in Madison Heights where they arrested him.

Detective Sgt. Deron Myers said Barba told police he had been drinking, panicked and fled the crash scene.


Police have not concluded how Barba got to the home in Madison Heights but say he had a cellphone.

“At this time no one else has been arrested but it’s still an ongoing investigation,” Myers said.

Barba’s attorney, Krystle-Marie Medina, has received copies of police reports in preparation for the Sept. 9 hearing but declined to comment on the allegations against him.

Barba suffered minor injuries in the accident. Officials believe he had just left a family event in the area.

Polansky remained in critical condition Thursday at McLaren Macomb hospital, said his sister, Tammy Polansky Richardson.

Frontera was upgraded to stable condition a few days after the collision and is undergoing rehabilitation.

The injured couple had only traveled a short distance before the collision. Polansky and Frontera had just left a charity fundraiser at the AMVETS hall on New Haven Road that they had attended along with other members of the Red Wing Motorcycle Club.


A Chesterfield Township police accident reconstruction officer has examined the intersection multiple times, and detectives have interviewed all witnesses, as investigators examine the circumstances of the collision.

More: http://www.macombdaily.com/20150903/hearing-set-for-driver-in-chesterfield-hit-and-run-crash