Former Eastern Michigan Cross Country 2001 and 2002 and 10,000 2002 and 2003 Champion Boaz Cheboiywo was involved in a drunk driving incident that took the life of a Ypsilanti, MI woman. The accident occurred April 21 near Ypsilanti.
The following story by Nathan Clark appeared on mlive.com/news/ann-arbor on April 22, 2021.
YPSILANTI TWP., MI – A former Eastern Michigan University Track star and Athletic Hall of Fame inductee has been arrested and charged for killing a woman while allegedly driving drunk.
Boaz Kisang Cheboiywo, 42, of Ypsilanti, was arraigned Sunday, April 11, on one felony count of operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor causing death related to a suspected drunken driving crash that occurred Friday, April 9, court records show.
At about 4:23 p.m. Friday, Cheboiywo was driving east through Ypsilanti Township on U.S. 12 near Ecorse Road toward Canton when he crossed the centerline and hit a westbound SUV and a passenger car, causing a multi-vehicle crash, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the SUV and two children in the vehicle were treated for injuries that were not considered life threatening and are expected to recover, police said.
The woman in the passenger vehicle, a 38-year-old Canton woman, suffered critical injuries and was taken to an area hospital where she was later pronounced dead, police said.
The woman’s name is not being released at this time pending family notification, police said.
Two additional cars were involved in the crash, but further injures were reported, police said.
Police, suspecting alcohol played a role in the crash, arrested Cheboiywo and requested charges for drunken driving.
Investigators are awaiting toxicology results and the incident remains under investigation. U.S. 12 was shut down for five hours while police processed the scene.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to call Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Detective Joseph Ballard at 734-474-6094.
Cheboiywo is currently lodged in the Washtenaw County Jail with bond set at $200,000. Operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor causing death is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Cheboiywo is a two-time NCAA track and field champion and was later inducted into the EMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
The following bio on Cheboiywo appears on the Detroit Mercy website where he is currently an assistant cross country coach.
One of the most recognizable names in Midwest running, Boaz Cheboiywo is in his third year as an assistant coach with the Detroit Mercy men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams. His first year proved to be highly successful as he helped the men repeat as Horizon League champions and tutored a young women’s team to a number of improvements throughout the year.
Prior to his arrival in Detroit, he was an Assistant Personal Training Department Head at Life Time Fitness in Canton as well as a strength and conditioning intern at his alma mater Eastern Michigan.
Cheboiywo – a native of Tirap, Kenya – was a two-time NCAA cross country champion winning the titles in 2001 and 2002. He also won the NCAA outdoor 10,000-meters in 2002 and 2003. In 2001, was honored as the NCAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year and finished his career as a seven-time NCAA All-American and 10-time Mid-American Conference champion. He was also named MAC Most Valuable Performance in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track championships and helped the Eagles to a third place team finish in the 2002 NCAA cross country championships.
After graduating from EMU with a degree in education in 2003, he signed with Nike and ran professionally for 10 years. In his prime, he was featured in a Nike commercial for the 2008 Olympics with Nike sponsored athletes LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Roger Federer.
He was selected to represent Kenya in the 3,000m at the Indoor Track Championship in Budapest, Hungry, after posting the second-fastest time in the world behind legendary runner Haile Gebreselasie of Ethiopia. He also represented Kenya at the Penn Relays in 2006, 2007 and 2008 in the “USA vs. World Penn Relays”, and guided Kenya to victory in 2008 and finishing third in 2006 and 2007. He placed in the top eight in the 3,000m steeplechase and 10,000m events at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in 2000, 2004, and 2008.
He then turned his attention to marathons and posted a 19th-place finish at the 2008 New York City Marathon, while also running in the Chicago Marathon.
He graduated from Eastern Michigan with a degree in Education in 2014 and earned his masters in Exercise Physiology in 2014. He also became a U.S. citizen in 2010.
Sad indeed! Pray for the survivors of this accident.. Darryl Taylor
Dear George and Paul:
This is tragic for all concerned., especially the family of the deceased lady.
I remember the first (and only) time I saw Boaz run in a cross country meet at EMU. It was like a man running against children. He was so powerful looking, smooth and fast.
We need to keep them all in our prayers.
Take care,
Tom Coyne
That's really tragic about both Boaz and the people his wreck injured or killed. That changes so many lives. I saw Boaz win some of his NCAA championships as well as his Great Lakes Regionals and Sea Ray Relays races and he was positively unbeatable. He was also another great T&F athlete for Bob Parks at EMU. Attached are the EMU outdoor records -- very impressive.
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