Burundian refugee hit by car and killed in Michigan

This is not the first time we have heard of a refugee hit by a car and killed in the US, and not the first Burundian to die in an accident.  Murumba Melansi was a father of eleven and his untimely death puts an enormous strain on the family.  Presumably the family’s refugee resettlement agency, Catholic Charities, will be able to make up for the shortfall in the family’s income.  It seems it would be the moral thing to do.

From the Lansing State Journal:

Murumba Melansi and his wife escaped genocide in the central African country Burundi and then hardship in a Tanzanian refugee camp before coming to Lansing in 2007 with nine of their children.

[…..]

On Dec. 5, the family’s new life was shattered when Melansi, 56, was struck by a car while crossing Grand River Avenue near Pennsylvania Avenue.

He was taken off life support Wednesday.

Lansing police said Melansi was intoxicated at the time of the crash, which happened at about 1 p.m. Family members said he was walking to the store.

[…..]

Thomas Valli, who worked with the family through St. Vincent Catholic Charities and became friends with Melansi, described him as “a quiet and dignified head of the family. And it’s reflected in the atmosphere of the home.”

This story reminds me, I guess we never did hear if charges were ultimately filed in the Arizona van accident that killed six Burundian refugees last summer.

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