Man charged after hitting, killing 77-year-old woman in northern Michigan grocery store parking lot

BENZONIA, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man is facing charges after police say he hit and killed a woman in the parking lot of a northern Michigan grocery store last summer.

Police said David Michael Gouin, 31, stopped to talk to someone in the parking lot of Shop-N-Save at 1747 Benzie Highway in Benzonia just after noon on Aug. 20, 2021. He pulled forward after, hitting 77-year-old Catherine Anne Kelder with his pickup truck.

Police said the victim had started walking when the truck wasn't moving. Kelder, who was from Frankfort, was taken to a hospital, where she later died.

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Police said Gouin told them he didn't see Kelder.

During the investigation, police found an unregistered handgun in Gouin's truck, and he did not have a concealed carry permit, so he is facing charges related to the crash and the weapon. 

He was charged with a moving violation causing death, and carrying a concealed weapon after police turned their investigation report over to the prosecutor's office on April 27, 2022.

The moving violation is a one-year misdemeanor, while the gun charge is a five-year felony.

Gouin was given a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, and he is due back in court July 14.