MI MI - James Van Horn, 66, & Michael Alston, 55, Detroit, 27 July 2013

Guinevere

"We are blessed and cursed by our times"
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Very Sad!!!! Seems to be so many Hit and Runs Lately :(

RIP

James Van Horn aka "Eat 'em Up Tigers Guy"
&
"Michael"

There is also a FB Page set up in hopes of collecting tips that can be found here:

Find the Hit and Run Killer of Two Detroit Icons

https://www.facebook.com/eatemuptigers?hc_location=timeline


Two town favorites killed in a hit and run accident

Two men killed thought to be town favorites 'Eat Em Up Tigers' man, and 'Dread lock Mike'

Author: Ashley Zakar, Assignment Editor
Published On: Jul 27 2013 09:19:09 AM EDT Updated On: Jul 27 2013 09:33:21 AM EDT

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...dent/-/1719418/21203632/-/16fcqt/-/index.html

Detroit -
"Detroit police tell Local 4 two men were hit and killed on Gratiot near Russell road at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
The two men killed are thought to be town favorites 'Eat Em Up Tigers' man, and 'Dreadlock Mike'.
Police say the two were crossing the road when they were struck by a small black vehicle that was seen leaving the scene."

62402_381639118626003_791072845_n.jpg



Above: James Van Horn aka "Eat 'em Up Tigers Guy" - The Comerica Park mainstay who has entertained baseball fans for years.


45929_381630875293494_440269540_n.jpg


Above: - "Michael" - The man without feet, thick dreadlocks, and intense eyes who wheels around downtown, Eastern Market, and other areas.

~
 
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...elling-eat-em-up-tigers-killed-in-hit-and-run

"Witnesses tell 7 Action News they heard a crash at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning in the area of Gratiot and Russell, about a mile from Comerica Park. They say it appears Van Horn was pushing Dreadlock Mike down the street when they were hit by a vehicle that left the scene. When witnesses got to the scene, they saw the two men laying in the street at the intersection. They say they were able to identify Van Horn by his distinctive 'Hulk hand' that was lying in the street.

...

Witnesses say Dreadlock Mike's wheelchair was near the men and that it was hit by a second vehicle, which also left the scene."

BBM


What is wrong with people?!? Two different vehicles left the scene never calling to get them any help...... So Sad! :candle:

~
 
Here is a nice article from Fox Sports Detroit..



Fox Sports Detroit-Detroit mourns loss of local legends

DAVE HOGG |
Published: Saturday, July 27, 2013, 7:10pm




"There was something missing on my drive to Comerica Park today.


.....

He wasn't there when I arrived at Saturday's game. Instead, there was a small floral arrangement and a t-shirt reading simply "Eat Em Up".

803301.jpg


Friday night, about five hours after the end of the Tigers-Phillies game, Van Horn, 65, was pushing the wheelchair of another Comerica Park regular, a homeless man with no feet known as "Dreadlock Mike." Both men were struck and killed by a vehicle that fled the scene, according to witnesses. Another vehicle hit Mike's wheelchair and drove away.

...


Mother Nature added a tribute of her own, as a bright rainbow broke out over the Comerica Park scoreboard during the storm that delayed the start of the game.



** Popular local t-shirt company Down With Detroit Apparel announced that they would be selling a special design with proceeds going to funeral expenses and homeless charities. **


http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/sto...s-of-local-legends?blockID=924087&feedID=3701

~
 
So so so sad when a man in a wheelchair and a friend assisting him are hit and killed.

So so so soulless when a driver can leave them after causing them injury then loss of life.

May they rest in peace. May justice be swift. Prayers for all that loved them.
 
Funeral set for 'Eat 'Em Up, Tigers' guy, as police look for Dodge Avenger








6:57 PM, July 29, 2013

http://www.freep.com/article/20130729/NEWS01/307290096/Tigers-fan-hit-and-run-death


"The funeral for the “Eat ’Em Up, Tigers” guy, James Van Horn, has been set for Friday, and his daughter says she’s amazed at the public outpouring of support after her father and another downtown staple, Dreadlock Mike, were killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The two men died after they were hit by a car near the intersection of Gratiot and Russell around 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Investigators were still searching for the driver, Detroit Police spokewoman Sgt. Eren Stephens said today.
Police said they are looking for a dark-colored Dodge Avenger, with damage to its front end. Police also said the vehicle may have had an out-of-state license plate.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said Monday the men have been identified as James Van Horn, 66, and Michael Alston, 55, known on the street as Dreadlock Mike."

...

The funeral for Van Horn will be at 11 a.m. Friday with a family hour beginning at 10 a.m. at New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, 6330 Pembroke in Detroit, according to his daughter. Visitation will be Wednesday from a currently undetermined time through 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the C.W. Morris-J.W. Henry Funeral Home, 12700 Hamilton Ave., in Highland Park.

Services for Dreadlock Mike were still pending.

~
 
So so so sad when a man in a wheelchair and a friend assisting him are hit and killed.

So so so soulless when a driver can leave them after causing them injury then loss of life.

May they rest in peace. May justice be swift. Prayers for all that loved them.

Sickening!!! Personally, if I was ever in that situation I think I would be too much in shock to drive off and IF I did for whatever mental reason, I would most definitely turn myself in after. Very sad. :(
 
July 30, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Funeral set for 'Eat 'Em Up Tigers Man' as police search for vehicles



  • Serena Maria Daniels
  • The Detroit News
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...s-Eat-Em-Up-Tigers-Man-police-search-vehicles

A public viewing will be held 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at C.W. Morris Funeral Home at 12700 Hamilton Ave. in Highland Park. A viewing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday but a time has not been confirmed.
The body of Michael Alston, known as “Dreadlock Mike,” who was also killed when he was struck, has not been claimed.

The two, who could commonly be seen rallying the crowds outside of Comerica Park, were killed around 2:30 a.m. Saturday while crossing Gratiot at Russell near Eastern Market.

Meanwhile, police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the vehicles believed to have been involved in the fatal collision — a dark-colored Dodge Avenger, possibly with a New Jersey license plate and front-end damage and a second car, a full-sized Cadillac sedan, said Detroit Police Officer Scott Sheets with the homicide unit’s fatal squad.



BBM

How very sad that Michael has not been claimed by family :(

~​
 
July 30, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Funeral set for 'Eat 'Em Up Tigers Man' as police search for vehicles



  • Serena Maria Daniels
  • The Detroit News
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...s-Eat-Em-Up-Tigers-Man-police-search-vehicles

A public viewing will be held 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at C.W. Morris Funeral Home at 12700 Hamilton Ave. in Highland Park. A viewing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday but a time has not been confirmed.
The body of Michael Alston, known as “Dreadlock Mike,” who was also killed when he was struck, has not been claimed.

The two, who could commonly be seen rallying the crowds outside of Comerica Park, were killed around 2:30 a.m. Saturday while crossing Gratiot at Russell near Eastern Market.

Meanwhile, police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the vehicles believed to have been involved in the fatal collision — a dark-colored Dodge Avenger, possibly with a New Jersey license plate and front-end damage and a second car, a full-sized Cadillac sedan, said Detroit Police Officer Scott Sheets with the homicide unit’s fatal squad.



BBM

How very sad that Michael has not been claimed by family :(

~​

So what happens if he isn't claimed? :(
 
Still looking for a Black Avenger as the primary vehicle in the hit and run...

HBM & BBM

Cadillac impounded after deaths of men well-known to Tigers fans

Read more: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/2...f-men-well-known-to-tigers-fans#ixzz2aZfgaWUw

DETROIT (WJBK) -
Police said a white Cadillac may have been the second car involved in the hit-and-run crash that killed the "Eat 'Em Up Tigers" guy and "Dreadlock Mike". Late Tuesday afternoon, that vehicle may have been found.

James Van Horn and Michael Alston were colorful figures outside Comerica Park during Tigers games. They were found in the street near Gratiot and Russell early Saturday morning.

Detroit Police have impounded what they believe is one of the cars they are looking for.
A black Dodge Avenger with New Jersey license plates and damage to the front end has yet to be found.



Read more: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/2...f-men-well-known-to-tigers-fans#ixzz2aZfsqIiv

~
 
So what happens if he isn't claimed? :(

Hopefully the Legal Guardian mentioned the article below will claim him. :crossfingers:

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/i..._detroits_james_eat.html#incart_river_default


It seems funeral arrangements may be taken car of from donations and T-Shirt sales as is posted on the FB page. So that might not be too much of an issue.

https://www.facebook.com/eatemuptigers


If for some reason a relative does not claim him I imagine he may be cremated? :waitasec:

~
 
from the FB page:
Michael Alston's funeral is scheduled for Saturday August 3rd at 11:00am at the Cantrell Funeral Home, with a family and friends gathering beginning at 10am. There will be a viewing the day before on Friday August 2nd from 1pm until 7pm.
 
"I'm a season ticket holder and we got to know James by coming to all of the games, parking in the same spot; going into the entrance the same way every time," Mike Riley, who helped create the t-shirts, said. "I took a picture of him with my cell phone and sent it to a buddy of mine in Los Angeles, who's a designer, and we printed off like 144 shirts and sold them all in 10 seconds."

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/james-van-horn-carved-out-niche-tigers-style#ixzz2aHrJOxFB


these are the eat em up tshirts not anything after their deaths
 
Sickening!!! Personally, if I was ever in that situation I think I would be too much in shock to drive off and IF I did for whatever mental reason, I would most definitely turn myself in after. Very sad. :(

Not only the shock, but also the knowledge that you had just HIT someone... I'd have to stop to make sure everyone was ok, and I'd make sure that (at least) an ambulance was called to the scene. Even if whoever it was didn't want to stop because they were scared of being arrested, the least they could have done was called an ambulance. If it was an accident I'd hope that the legal system was kind to me, but I'd rather that than living with the fact that I'd killed someone and not stopped to help. Plus, hitting someone and driving off would surely carry a much higher penalty than accidentally hitting someone and stopping to help. (Although, we don't know if it *was* an accident - the driver could very well have been drinking before the crash.)

Not to mention the second car that ran over the wheelchair and didn't even stop. They weren't the car to hit the men, so I can't see why they wouldn't have stopped. Very cowardly.

So very sad, this world we live in. Rest in peace. :candle:
 
Not only the shock, but also the knowledge that you had just HIT someone... I'd have to stop to make sure everyone was ok, and I'd make sure that (at least) an ambulance was called to the scene. Even if whoever it was didn't want to stop because they were scared of being arrested, the least they could have done was called an ambulance. If it was an accident I'd hope that the legal system was kind to me, but I'd rather that than living with the fact that I'd killed someone and not stopped to help. Plus, hitting someone and driving off would surely carry a much higher penalty than accidentally hitting someone and stopping to help. (Although, we don't know if it *was* an accident - the driver could very well have been drinking before the crash.)

Not to mention the second car that ran over the wheelchair and didn't even stop. They weren't the car to hit the men, so I can't see why they wouldn't have stopped. Very cowardly.

So very sad, this world we live in. Rest in peace. :candle:


BBM

Its just SO wrong!

You would think a human being would have the slightest bit of compassion and a conscious wouldn't you? So Sad :( To not even call for EMS ....It's obvious this person(s) has IMO no heart.....:notgood:

Unfortunately not only could it be possible the person(s) could have been driving under the influence but they also been driving a stolen car or have outstanding warrants or both!

Both vehicles mentioned are newer High Theft rate vehicles so thats always a possibility. Someone who did not want to stop and been seen......??? We are talking about 3AM Down Town. Much too late for odds of it having been someone from the out of town game traffic. Those people would have been long gone by then. So if you run the odds ???
That means even if they recover a vehicle it may not give them the persons responsible.



I sure hope they find whomever it is :praying:



~
 

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