Currin died Monday morning at Miami Valley Hospital after being found injured early Sunday morning on the 3100 block of Wayne Avenue. The circumstances around those injuries and what exactly happened has still not been determined or released by police.
“This was a kid who, you met him once, literally, he’d make an impact on you,” Dunn said of Currin.
Dunn said Currin lost his father when he was 8 years old and, in many ways, followed in his footsteps. He said Currin has been remembered as a mentor to students just a few years younger than him.
“You’re talking about an 18-year-old helping 14, 15, 16-year-olds get their arms wrapped around their faith and see the world differently,” Dunn said.
Currin was a captain on the Archbishop Moeller basketball team, and he didn’t earn that title by being a ball hog, Dunn said. Instead, he was always helping his teammates succeed.
Currin was a first-year student at UD, studying business.
Dunn said that Dayton Police are in communication with the family. What he knows is that there is video of Currin leaving his dorm and that he was going to pick up a pizza at Cousin Vinny’s Pizza on Wayne Avenue. He said police have some cell phone data and there was a time gap between when Currin left the residence hall and when he was found at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. He didn’t know how long the gap was.
What still isn’t clear is how Currin ended up in the 3100 block of Wayne Avenue instead of the 2000 block where Cousin Vinny’s Pizza is. Dunn said it’s possible Currin was lost, but he wants to wait to see what the police find.
Dayton Police originally released a report on the Ohio Department of Public Safety Crash Retrieval Website that said Currin was a victim of a hit-and-run crash. However, that report was removed from the website Monday afternoon, and police are continuing to investigate.
“As we announced on Monday afternoon, the Michael Currin investigation was expanded to include the Dayton Police Department Homicide Unit due to the severity of his injuries and the uncertain circumstances of how they occurred,” police said Wednesday. “It was concluded the initial crash report should be withdrawn until additional information regarding cause and circumstances of Mr. Currin’s injuries could be established through subsequent investigation.”
Darren Dake, a certified death investigator and international death scene investigation instructor, said hit-and-run crashes can be complicated but generally, investigators find hip and leg injuries. He said that can be different when a larger vehicle is involved, but generally, people are hit by vehicles in their lower portion of their body.
He said scrapes are also common and head injuries are also possible, depending on how a person lands.
Dunn said it is important to himself and the Currin family that they get the truth about what happened to Michael Currin. But what is not helpful is rumors circulating on social media about his death.
“Twenty-four hours before he passed, the rumor mill was started,” Dunn said. “To me, it takes a terrible situation and makes it twice as bad."
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