Teri Singleton is still waiting for answers.

It’s been nearly three weeks since her husband, beloved 72-year-old Detroit-area pastor Stephen Singleton, was struck and killed by an illegal immigrant motorist as he crossed Rochester Road in Rochester Hills.

A “gravely injured” Singleton, who was wearing a lighted reflective vest and using a crosswalk at the time, was rushed to the hospital.

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The illegal immigrant behind the wheel of the 2013 Ford Focus that sent him there was questioned by police, then released.

“I had to sit and watch my husband of 53 years die in front of me and then to know that the person who did this is walking around is very difficult to deal with,” Teri Singleton told WJBK.

For several days, the Singleton family was left with little more than time to reflect on the pastor’s dedication to serving his community and others in need. Among the memories are the former medic’s efforts to search for survivors and offer spiritual guidance in New York City in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, mission trips to Africa, and driving supplies to survivors of Hurricane Katrina and a deadly Alabama tornado.

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“He had almost every bone in his body broken,” Teri Singleton said. “He had his collarbone fractured, internal organ damage, and his skull was cracked. He had two craniotomies in the hospital.”

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office told WXYZ the driver of the vehicle is an illegal immigrant from Columbia who held a valid foreign driver’s license that’s recognized in Michigan.

Officials did not release the immigrant’s name, but said neither speed nor alcohol are believed to be factors in the crash, which occurred in a commercial area with a 45 mph speed limit. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the 28-year-old driver is in the country illegally, and is now free while awaiting a federal court date, WJBK reports.

“He’s dead and they’re walking around,” Teri Singleton said. “That’s bothering me.”

She’s not the only one, though Singleton’s lessons on faith are providing the means to cope.

“I will not be angry because this happened,” Singleton’s daughter Ruth told the news site. “I refuse to be angry. I will still love like my dad taught me to.”

“He was a loving person who cared about everybody,” said Teri Singleton. “I mean, the whole neighborhood, everybody in our community has come to my door. They didn’t even see the name on the report, but they knew him because of his habits.”

Allie Singleton, the pastor’s granddaughter, detailed those habits – from running marathons to support Muscular Dystrophy to religion instruction at Saint Cecilia Elementary School in Detroit – in a Go-Fund-Me campaign to raise funds for Singleton’s funeral expenses.

“My grandparents, like most seniors, are on a fixed income,” she wrote. “Due to serious health issues my grandmother is partially disabled and was dependent on my Papi financially and for day-to-day care. Medical bills and other unforeseen emergencies have taken away all their savings and this unexpected tragedy could cause the loss of her home.”

“Every contribution, no matter how small will go directly to assuring she has the resources she needs to bury my Papi and rebuild her life,” according to the fundraiser.

So far, the Go-Fund-Me page has raised just $320, while the family continues to wait for answers. They want to know why the person who killed Singleton was simply released, and whether authorities plan to hold that person accountable.

Media including WJBK reached out to government sources with those questions, but did not receive a response.

“One day, I wake up and just know he’s gone for such a simple and senseless thing,” Ruth Singleton said. “I just don’t understand.”

Whether the Singleton family ever receives justice remains to be seen, as similar cases involving illegal immigrant auto fatalities remain unresolved.

In 2024 alone, police allege illegal immigrants in Michigan have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Grand Rapids, and a double-fatal wreck on M-59 in Macomb County.

Grand Rapids Police identified Dominican immigrant Luis Angel Otanez-Castello as the driver responsible for the former, which resulted in the death of 53-year-old Robert Delgado on March 10.

Police charged Otanez-Casillo with two 15-year felonies after identifying him through video footage from a nearby sports bar, where investigators allege the suspect was drinking before the 3:15 a.m. crash.

Investigators later recovered Otanez-Castello’s car at a Wyoming repair shop, along with a deportation order for his removal from the U.S. Otanez-Castello is now a wanted fugitive.

Other illegal immigrants have been arrested or convicted in Michigan in recent months for murdering a woman in Grand Rapids and dumping her body alongside US-131; soliciting sex from minors in Shiawassee County; sexual conduct with a 15-year-old Livingston County girl; multiple sex assaults in Ann Arbor;, breaking into a home in Sturgis to molest two girls under the age of 13;  residential break-ins in Troy; and stealing iPhones off porches in metro Detroit, among other crimes.

ICE data released as part of a congressional request in late September revealed the agency’s docket contains more than 662,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges.

Of those, 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending charges are not detained by ICE, meaning they’re free to roam the country, including 13,099 convicted murderers, 15,811 convicted of sexual assaults, and 4,250 with pending sex assault charges.

Michigan Democrats are now considering legislation to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, though the effort faces stiff resistance from Republicans who ended a Democratic government trifecta in Lansing on Nov. 5, and will take control of the state House in January.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told EL CENTRAL last month the Drive SAFE legislation “could be on the list of actions that they may take before the end of the year.”