Taylor Man Charged With Manslaughter and Evidence Tampering After 8-Month-Old Dies in M-15 Rear-End Crash; Arrested More Than a Month After Leaving the Scene
Michigan Legal Center News Desk | April 23, 2026 | Richfield Township, Genesee County
Sources: WJRT ABC12 (Lisa Giles, Ryan Jeltema), WCRZ, Richfield Township Police Department — March 12–April 23, 2026
Note: Adam Hooper has been charged but not convicted. The charges are allegations. This article covers both the criminal case and the independent civil rights available to the family, which are not dependent on the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
Driver Charged With Manslaughter After 8-Month-Old Dies in Richfield Township Crash; Arrested 6 Weeks Later | The Michigan Legal Center
| QUICK ANSWER: What Happened and Where the Case Stands Now | |
|---|---|
| The crash | On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Adam Hooper, 50, of Taylor, was driving a Chevrolet utility truck on M-15 near Clark Road in Richfield Township when he rear-ended a Jeep Patriot. An 8-month-old child riding in the Jeep died. The child's 29-year-old mother, who was driving, and the child's siblings, ages 2 and 4, all suffered serious injuries. |
| The victims | The 8-month-old died. The 29-year-old mother and 2-year-old sibling were treated for injuries and released from the hospital during the week of the crash. The 4-year-old sibling remained hospitalized and in critical condition as of five days after the crash. The current condition has not been updated in the available reporting. |
| The arrest | Hooper was arrested Thursday morning, April 23, 2026, more than six weeks after the crash, near I-275 and Sibley Road in Wayne County. Richfield Township Police were assisted by Michigan State Police. He is being held at the Genesee County Jail pending arraignment. |
| The charges | (1) Manslaughter with a vehicle: up to 15 years in prison. (2) Two counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a bodily function: misdemeanors. (3) Tampering with evidence: up to 10 years in prison. Arraignment is scheduled this week in Genesee County District Court. |
| Evidence tampering charge | The tampering-with-evidence charge is significant. It means prosecutors allege Hooper took deliberate steps after the crash to conceal or destroy evidence related to what happened. Combined with his whereabouts in Wayne County more than six weeks after the crash, this charge reflects a sustained effort to avoid accountability. |
| The family's civil rights | Entirely separate from the criminal case, this family has the right to pursue a civil wrongful death claim under MCL 600.2922 for the loss of their child, and civil claims for the serious injuries suffered by the mother, the 2-year-old, and the 4-year-old. No-fault PIP benefits and MCL 500.3108 survivor loss benefits are also available. A criminal conviction is not required to pursue the civil case. |
| Contact | The Michigan Legal Center, Law Offices of Christopher Trainor & Associates: (248) 886-8650 |
A young mother was driving north on M-15 near Clark Road in Richfield Township on a Thursday afternoon in March. Her three children were in the car with her. An 8-month-old. A 2-year-old. A 4-year-old. It was an ordinary moment in an ordinary day.
Then a Chevrolet utility truck driven by Adam Hooper slammed into the back of her Jeep Patriot.
The 8-month-old died. The mother and all three of her children were seriously injured. The 4-year-old was in critical condition five days later. And the driver of the truck that ended one child's life and put the rest of the family in the hospital was not arrested until April 23, more than six weeks after the crash, found in Wayne County, far from Richfield Township, with a tampering with evidence charge added to his list.
The 4-year-old remained in critical condition five days after the crash. The mother and 2-year-old were treated and released. This family's pain did not end when the crash did.
Hooper, 50, of Taylor, was taken into custody Thursday morning near I-275 and Sibley Road in Wayne County with help from Michigan State Police. He is being held at the Genesee County Jail. His arraignment in Genesee County District Court is expected this week.
He faces four charges: manslaughter with a vehicle, two counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a bodily function, and tampering with evidence. The manslaughter charge carries up to 15 years in prison. The tampering charge carries up to 10 years.
This family has been living with their grief and their injuries for 42 days. They deserve more than an arraignment date. They deserve a full accounting of everything the law provides.
The Charges: What Each One Means
Manslaughter With a Vehicle (MCL 750.321)
Manslaughter with a vehicle is the charge Michigan prosecutors bring when a driver's grossly negligent or reckless operation of a vehicle causes another person's death. It is not the same as an accident. It requires conduct that goes beyond ordinary negligence: driving in a manner that demonstrates a substantial disregard for others' safety.
A rear-end collision on M-15 that kills an infant does not automatically reach that threshold. The specific facts of how Hooper was driving in the moments before impact, such as his speed, whether he was distracted, and whether there is evidence of impairment or recklessness, are what the prosecution will use to establish that his conduct was criminally negligent. The charge carries up to 15 years in prison and reflects how seriously Michigan law treats a driver whose behavior on the road ends a life.
Moving Violation Causing Serious Impairment (MCL 257.601d)
The two counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a bodily function address the injuries to the surviving family members, almost certainly the 29-year-old mother and the 4-year-old, who was in critical condition five days after the crash. Under MCL 257.601d, causing serious impairment while committing a moving violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine, and a driver's license suspension.
These charges exist alongside the felony manslaughter count, not instead of it. They ensure that the law accounts for every person this crash harmed, not just the one who died.
Tampering With Evidence (MCL 750.483a)
This is the charge that demands the most attention, because it describes deliberate conduct after the crash, not the crash itself.
Under MCL 750.483a, tampering with evidence in connection with a crime punishable by 10 or more years' imprisonment is a felony carrying up to 10 years' imprisonment. The predicate crime here (manslaughter with a vehicle) carries up to 15 years. That makes the evidence-tampering charge a serious standalone felony, not a secondary infraction.
The charge means prosecutors believe Hooper took active steps to conceal, destroy, or alter evidence related to what happened on M-15 on March 12. That may include the vehicle itself, electronic data from the truck, communications, or other evidence showing what Hooper was doing before impact. The fact that he was found in Wayne County, where he lives, rather than turning himself in or remaining accessible to investigators for six weeks, adds context to that allegation.
For the family, the evidence-tampering charge matters beyond the prison sentence. It is a statement by the criminal justice system that Hooper did not simply cause a tragedy and face the consequences. He is accused of attempting to ensure those consequences never caught up with him. That behavior is relevant to the civil case as well.
Six Weeks: The Significance of the Timeline
The crash happened on March 12. Hooper was arrested on April 23. That is 42 days.
Nothing in available reporting indicates Hooper turned himself in, cooperated voluntarily with investigators, or made any public acknowledgment of the crash in the weeks between those dates. He was found in Wayne County, where he is from, with assistance from the Michigan State Police.
The evidence-tampering charge suggests investigators believe the intervening weeks were not passive. They were spent, in the prosecution's view, on interfering with the evidence that would establish what happened and why.
For a grieving mother who spent that same period recovering from her own injuries while watching her 4-year-old remain in critical condition in a hospital, those 42 days mean something. They are not a footnote to the case. They are part of the harm Hooper is alleged to have caused by choosing concealment over accountability.
The Civil Case: What the Family Is Owed
The criminal case will determine whether Adam Hooper goes to prison and, if so, for how long. The civil case will determine whether this family receives financial compensation for what was taken from them.
These are not the same thing. They do not depend on each other. A criminal conviction can strengthen a civil case, but Michigan law does not require one. The civil standard of proof — more likely than not — is lower than the criminal standard. The civil case can proceed on its own timeline, and it should.
Wrongful Death (MCL 600.2922)
Michigan's wrongful death statute, MCL 600.2922, gives the personal representative of the deceased child's estate the right to pursue civil wrongful death claims on behalf of the family. The damages available include the economic value of the child's life, the loss of the society, companionship, and guidance the child would have provided to the family, and the conscious pain and suffering experienced before death.
An 8-month-old has not yet accumulated an employment history or a measurable economic footprint. But Michigan law recognizes that a parent's loss of a child is not measured in wages. It is measured in the relationship that was severed before it had a chance to fully exist: the person that child would have become, and everything that the family will carry in their absence. That loss is compensable under Michigan law.
No-Fault PIP Benefits for the Surviving Family Members
The mother and her two other children were each injured in this crash. Michigan's no-fault system under MCL 500.3105 provides Personal Injury Protection benefits for their medical expenses, wage loss for the mother, and replacement services, regardless of who caused the crash. These benefits activate from the moment of the accident and should already be flowing through the appropriate no-fault insurer.
If they are not — if any claims have been delayed, denied, or underpaid — that is something an attorney can and should address immediately. For a detailed explanation of how PIP benefits and third-party claims work together after a serious crash, see our guide: The Difference Between a PIP Claim and a Third-Party Claim in Michigan.
Survivor Loss Benefits (MCL 500.3108)
Michigan's no-fault law also provides survivor loss benefits under MCL 500.3108 for surviving dependents of someone killed in a motor vehicle accident. These benefits cover a portion of the economic support the deceased would have provided to the family over the years following the crash. For a family that lost an infant, the primary application here is to the mother's own no-fault claim and the family unit's loss. An attorney can evaluate the specific facts and determine the full scope of available benefits.
The Civil Negligence Claim Against Hooper
Beyond no-fault benefits, this family has a direct civil negligence claim against Adam Hooper for the crash itself. That claim seeks compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and the full human cost of what Hooper's driving did to this family. The serious impairment standard under MCL 500.3135 — whether the injuries affected the family members' general ability to lead a normal life — is almost certainly met by the death of a child and the critical hospitalization of another.
The evidence-tampering charge, if it results in a conviction, will be admissible in the civil case as evidence of Hooper's consciousness of guilt and the deliberate steps he took to avoid accountability. That evidence is relevant to the full picture of damages and to the jury's assessment of his conduct. For a full explanation of how fault is evaluated and contested in Michigan crash cases, see our guide: Comparative Fault in Michigan Car Accidents.
What the Family Should Do Now
The arrest and pending arraignment will generate significant attention for the criminal case. That is appropriate. But the family should not wait for the criminal case to be resolved before understanding their civil rights. Here is what matters in the immediate term.
Retain a Michigan wrongful death attorney as soon as possible. The statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim in Michigan runs three years from the date of death under MCL 600.5805. That clock started on March 12, 2026. It does not wait for a criminal verdict.
Confirm that no-fault PIP claims have been filed for all injured family members. The mother and both surviving children are entitled to PIP benefits for all injury-related medical expenses. If claims have not been filed or if any have been disputed, an attorney can move quickly to address that.
Preserve all medical records and documentation of injuries and treatment for all surviving family members from the date of the crash forward.
Do not accept any settlement offer from any insurance company without having it reviewed by an attorney. Settlements in cases involving infant wrongful death and multiple serious injuries require careful evaluation to ensure they reflect the full scope of what the family is owed.
The Michigan Legal Center: We Represent Families Who Have Lost the Most
There is no way to say what needs to be said about a crash that killed an 8-month-old without first acknowledging what that means. This is a mother who lost her child and watched her other children suffer. It is a family whose ordinary Thursday afternoon became the worst day of their lives, and then had to watch the man responsible spend six weeks apparently hiding from what he did.
The Michigan Legal Center has represented families like this one. We have taken rear-end crash cases from their earliest stages through trial and recovered verdicts that reflected the full measure of what was lost. We know Michigan's wrongful death law, we know no-fault PIP, and we know how to build a civil case that does not depend on what happens in the criminal courtroom.
If you are a member of this family, or if you have lost someone in a crash caused by a driver who had no regard for the people in their path, Christopher Trainor and his team want to hear from you. The consultation is free. There is no fee unless we recover.
Call (248) 886-8650 to speak with the Michigan Legal Center today.
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