Neighbor: Woman acted confused after crashing her car shortly before homeowner shot her to death

New details are emerging about the events that led to the shooting death of a 19-year-old Detroit woman after she wrecked her car last week.

Police in Dearborn Heights said Renisha McBride crashed her father’s 2004 Ford Taurus shortly before 1 a.m. on Nov. 2 and was shot to death more than two hours later and six blocks away from a man who thought she was trying to break into his house.

The police department has turned the case over to the Wayne Count prosecutor’s office to determine whether charges will be filed.

An autopsy showed McBride was shot in the face by a 12-gauge shotgun, not in the back of the head as family members had claimed last week.

“There was an entrance shotgun wound to the face, with no evidence of close-range discharge of a firearm noted on the skin surrounding this wound,” according to the coroner’s report, which ruled the manner of death a homicide.

An attorney for the 54-year-old homeowner, whose name has not been released, said the man feared for his life when McBride came to his home, although the homeowner has told police his shotgun discharged accidentally about 3:40 a.m.

McBride's family believe she had been seeking help when she went to the man's home.

Police said they had spoken to neighbors who said a woman who’d been speeding down the street crashed into a parked car at Bramell Street and Majestic Avenue, got out of the vehicle and walked away.

Officers were not immediately sent to the crash, which was considered a low priority, but they responded about 40 minutes later after a second 911 call reported that the woman had returned. But police said she was gone by the time emergency crews arrived.

The car, which was registered to McBride’s father, suffered front-end damage and was towed.

An attorney for McBride’s family said witnesses reported the woman had acted confused after the crash and repeatedly said she “wanted to go home.”

The neighbor who reported the behavior to the attorney said later tried to find McBride but wasn’t able.

Prosecutors said they’re still waiting for additional items from the police investigation before announcing whether charges will be filed, and civil rights activists have called for a thorough investigation into the shooting death of the black McBride in the predominantly white neighborhood.