Leelanau County Crash leaves 5 people Hospitalized

Traverse City Record-Eagle Article: GREILICKVILLE -- Five people remained hospitalized as authorities continued to investigate a two-vehicle crash in Leelanau County.  Robert Nadai, 55, of Royal Oak, allegedly drove through a stop sign on Hoxie Road and into the path of a vehicle occupied by five people heading north on Bugai Road around 1:20 p.m. Oct. 13, officials said.  Seven people were involved in the crash, and five remained at Munson Medical Center Monday. Nadai's front seat passenger Kathleen Mae Nadai, 60, was in serious condition.Read more of the artilce here Record-Eagle.

Garfield Crash Leaves Four Injured

According to the Record Eagle, an accident at the intersection of Garfield and Potter roads sent four to the hospital and closed the road for about three hours after the accident happened at about 8:17 on April 12.

An 8 year-old boy and 9 year-old girl were taken to Munson hospital in critical condition following the accident, with both drivers going there for minor injuries.

According to Undersheriff Nathan Alger, weather was not a cause of the accident, and it appeared that all parties were wearing safety buckles.

Benzonia Car Accident Kills Two

The Record Eagle has reported ...  BENZONIA — A Benzie County man could face 15 years in prison for an alcohol-related car crash that killed his second cousin and injured two others.

Benzie County Sheriff's officials allege Dennis Bradley Fox, 23, was driving four passengers home from Elberta's Cabbage Shed Waterfront Pub around 2:15 a.m. Sunday when he allegedly struck a utility pole and rolled a car on River Road near Adams Road in Crystal Lake Township.

"I know that they had been partying for quite a while and they were heading home,” Detective Tom Whale said. "It was heavy rain at the time of the accident. I think it was a combination of speed and alcohol.”

See related items:

• Woman, 22, killed in Benzie County crash - April 2, 2007

Three backseat passengers in the car, including Fox's cousin, Nichole Lee Smith, 22, of Traverse City, weren't wearing seat belts and were thrown from the car, Whale said.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Fox's twin brother, Daniel J. Fox, 23, of Interlochen and Kacie M. Bailey, 21, of Honor, were seriously injured and were taken to Munson Medical Center for treatment, Whale said. .. more here.

Link: Four-car accident at Chum's Corner claims doctor

TRAVERSE CITY - A West Michigan doctor is dead and his wife in serious condition after their vehicle was hit broadside by a semi-truck during a four-car accident in a construction zone near Chum's Corner.

Tips to Keep Kids Safe During Accidents

This website provides tips for parents on what measures are available to keep kids safe during a car crash.

The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia

Police say 'Vette driver had too many drinks

Link: Police say 'Vette driver had too many drinks.

FROM RE STAFF REPORTS TRAVERSE CITY - A Traverse City woman was arrested by police for allegedly driving a vintage Corvette while drunk with two teenagers along for the ride. Traverse City police Capt. Steve Morgan said the 47-year-old woman was driving the car at a "high rate of speed" on West Silver Lake Road at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when she left the roadway. No one was injured in the crash.

Bus rolls off road in Manistee County, campers not hurt

Link: Bus rolls off road in Manistee County, campers not hurt.

By IAN C. STOREY Record-Eagle staff writer WELLSTON - Campers and counselors from Lake Ann Baptist Camp escaped generally unscathed after the bus carrying them back from a rafting trip rolled off a dirt road in Manistee County. Executive Director Ken Riley said about 46 campers and counselors were on the bus when it rolled off a road embankment just after 5 p.m. Tuesday in Manistee County.

Michigan Accident Listing: Attorneys Specializing in Michigan No-Fault Law

I-96 Pile-Up:  Fog lingers at the scene of a crash Wednesday on eastbound I-96 in Alaiedon Township, east of Lansing. At least two people died and at least 37 were injured in several pileups involving almost 200 vehicles Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Thick fog and speeding motorists combined to create a series of highway crashes near Lansing that killed two people Wednesday and damaged nearly 200 vehicles.

Ingham County Sheriff's Lt. Jeffrey Joy described it as a "nightmare." Of the injured, the Sheriff's Office said three were hospitalized in critical condition and six were in serious condition Wednesday night.  Sparrow Hospital, where most of the injured were taken, had treated 19 patients by 9 p.m.

Read More from the Detroit Free Press.

Just east of Lansing, two people were killed and at least 25 others were injured in a 100-vehicle pileup on I-96. Fog is to blame for the collisions that forced the closure of a 12-mile stretch of the highway in both directions, from Ingham County to Livingston County. One westbound lane in the area remains closed Thursday.

One of those injured in the collisions was Davenport University (Grand Rapids) President Randy Flechsig. He is listed in good condition at an Ann Arbor hospital. Davenport University's Executive Vice President Al Wetherell was also injured in the accident. He was treated and released from a hospital.

Much the same can be said to the south on US-131 between Portage and Schoolcraft when a semi truck caused a chain reaction with multiple vehicles.

Read More from Wood TV8 in Lansing

School Bus Crash

Record-Eagle staff writer PATRICK SULLIVAN reports on an accident where a school bus lost control on icy roads and crashed at a low speed into some trees.  In student is still hospitalized and 12 others were injured and released.The accident happened at around 7:30 a.m. on a hill on Inman Road west of Puffer Road in an area that straddles Springfield and Boardman townships.  Read more here ...

Man guilty in teens' deaths

In the January 7, 2005 ediiton of the Record-Eagle, IAN C. STOREY file the following report:
TRAVERSE CITY - After nearly four hours of deliberation, a jury has found a Kalkaska man guilty of causing a car accident that killed two area teens. Timothy Schubert, 38, was found guilty on two counts of negligent homicide in the Aug. 25 deaths of Adrian Morris and Christan DeWitt. The girls were in Morris' vehicle and pulled from Grand Traverse Crossing onto South Airport Road when Schubert struck and instantly killed them. Morris, 17, and DeWitt, 16, were students at Traverse City West Senior High. Read more of the the article...

Cars and motorcycles crash into deer

Fatal crashes caused by animals at all-time high

WASHINGTON - Cars and motorcycles crash into deer more than 4,000 times a day, and it's taking an increasingly deadly toll - on people.

Last year a record 210 motorists were killed in collisions with animals, mostly deer. That was 40 more than the previous year and more than twice the number in 1993, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"The deer population is growing and there are more vehicles on the road every year," Allan Williams, the institute's chief scientist, said Wednesday. "There's just a lot more chance for interaction with animals on the roads."  In this area, car-deer crashes happen all over but the main concentration occurs on the area highways, said Trooper Michelle Taylor with the Michigan State Police Reed City Post.   Typically, area troopers respond to crashes on a daily basis this time of year.
Read More ...

Welcome To Winter Driving

December 20, 2004: Heavy snow makes driving local roads a challenge (as reported in C.N.)

Wexford County Dispatch reported 17 accidents from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sunday including four rollovers and one personal injury accident when a car hit a guardrail near the intersection of M-115 and M-37. Information on the personal injury accident was unavailable. In Missaukee and Lake counties, the sheriff's departments reported no accidents as a result of weather.

Please drive safe in the winter.  Click here for some drivers safety links.

Road Improvements After Accident

Officials put rumble strips at boat launch (as reproted in the R.E.)
      TRAVERSE CITY - Officials continue adding safety measures at the boat launch site that claimed a local woman and three young girls.  Jim Valade, facilities superintendent of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, said temporary rumble strips were installed on the Crescent Shores Road to alert motorists of the Long Lake access site.  The site claimed Dr. Karen Gilhooly and her daughter Rowan Sanford, along with schoolmates Sierra Fetterolf and Anna Maas, on Nov. 3 when the car they were traveling in entered Long Lake. Police said Gilhooly, 46, and the girls were heading to a concert in Interlochen when they may have mistakenly turned onto Crescent Shores Road.  Next spring, permanent strips will be created 150 feet back from the dead end sign that marks the water's edge, Valade said.

Car Accident Causes Hazardous Material Cleanup

M-37 closed after car-truck accident  (Record Eagle)
      TRAVERSE CITY:  Several vehicles were damaged and one motorist was seriously injured in a car-truck crash along M-37 in Blair Township.  Investigators said the crash happened around 11 a.m. Thursday. A southbound vehicle along M-37 attempted to make a left turn onto Blair Townhall Road when it was hit from behind and pushed into the opposite lane, where it was struck by a northbound tractor-trailer carrying a load of empty apple crates. The truck also struck another southbound vehicle before leaving the roadway.  A hazardous material cleanup company from Kalkaska was called in to clean spilled diesel fuel from the truck.   The crash forced M-37 to be closed for several hours to clear the road and for investigators to reconstruct the collision.  More ..

Car Safety Links

Automobile Safety is important.   Accidents cost society hundreds of millions of dollars every year.  Every year, millions of Americans are injured in car accidents. Many of these accidents are avoidable.  If everyone focused on being just a little safer behind the wheel, we could save a lot.  Our automobile insurance premiums and our health care costs would drop.  By reducing accidents, we save lives and money.

So remember to drive safely.  Use your seat belts.  Use child seats correctly.  Always use child restraints and boosters for children. Drive the speed limit. Pay attention to the road when you are driving.

Here are some important automobile safety links: 

• Who's Who in Traffic Safety

• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

• Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety

• ATSSA - American Traffic Safety Services Association

• Welcome to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

• Vince & Larry's Safety City For Kids

• NHTSA - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Cherry Queen seriously injured in crash

The Record Eagle is reporting that the 2004 queen of the National Cherry Festival is in serious condition at a Flint hospital after she crashed her sport utility vehicle while returning to college in Ann Arbor.  Margaret "Maggie" Schneider, 21, was traveling east on U.S. 10 near Midland just before 9:30 a.m. Monday when she lost control of her 2000 GMC Jimmy and entered the median before rolling over several times, said Midland County Sheriff's Capt. Brad Hobbs. Schneider was hospitalized at the MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland before being airlifted to Hurley Hospital in Flint, where she is in the intensive care unit.  Read more ...

Gaylord I-74 Change

A third interchange on Interstate 75 may be on the way to Gaylord, the second-fastest growing community in Michigan. The Northeast Michigan Council of Governments this summer published a transportation study about additional east-west connectors for Gaylord, which is bisected by the north-south interstate and has only two points in the area to cross to the other side. "We've learned that, indeed, we have some traffic problems," said Jeff Ratcliffe, executive director of the Otsego County Economic Alliance. The study identifies the two major problem areas as the two interchanges with I-75.The largest problem is at the interchange with M-32, which also is Main Street. During busy drive times each day, traffic backs up with motorists and tractor-trailers waiting to get on and off the interstate.The other problem area is on the southern side of town, where the I-75 interchange meets with Otsego Avenue, also known as the I-75 Business Loop. Traffic there also tends to clog during rush hours.

Traverse City Accident

Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle on Tuesday authorized negligent homicide charges against Kalkaska's Timothy Schubert, 37, for allegedly causing the South Airport Road accident that killed Adrian Morris and Christan DeWitt, students at Traverse City West Senior High. Morris, 17, and DeWitt, 16, were traveling in Morris' GEO Prizm on Aug. 25 when it was broadsided by Schubert's SUV near Grand Traverse Crossing. Also traveling in the Prizm was Ivy Worm, 14, who sustained minor injuries.

Mesick Accidnnt

A car full of five 15- and 16-year-olds careened off a remote road near Mesick and struck several trees - killing two of the teenagers and injuring the other three. Sixteen-year-old driver Daniel Dexter Lylo of Mesick and passenger Beth Elayne Hartsock, 15, of Evart, died in the single-car crash in Springville Township just after midnight Saturday, the Cadillac post of the Michigan State Police reported.
The teens were headed north on Hodenpyle Road, south of M-115, in a 1995 Chrysler four-door car in a remote area of Springville Township, said Sgt. Malcolm Irwin. The car ran off the road and struck several trees about 12:45 a.m., police said. Three of the passengers, KD Lee Maxwell, 15, of Reed City; John Travis Baldwin, 15, of Mesick; and Craig Charles Blodgett, 16, of Leland, were taken to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. A Munson nursing supervisor said Maxwell and Baldwin were listed in serious condition Saturday evening. Blodgett was listed in fair condition. Police continue to investigate the accident.

Kalkaska Accident

A 31-year-old Detroit woman and a 3-week-old baby boy were killed in a car accident on US-131 near Kalkaska. Tabitha Ann Hendon, 31, of Detroit and infant Oroscio Sotelo, also of Detroit, were pronounced dead at the scene of a two-car crash last Sunday, said the Kalkaska County Sheriff's Office. The accident occurred when William Hardin Winn, 82, who was traveling north on US-131, allegedly pulled into the southbound lane in an attempt to pass another car. Winn's car collided with the driver's side of Hendon's car, which she was driving south on US-131. Winn, of Charlevoix and passenger June Winn, 83, were transported to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. They were both listed in fair condition Monday, said a Munson nursing supervisor.

Traverse City Accident

Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins says the first successful use of spiked vehicle "stop sticks" by his department led to the arrest of a Grawn man police found covered in blood.
Fewins said a sheriff's deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by James Joseph Dunevant, 29, just after 10 p.m. Monday in East Bay Township after he was allegedly spotted driving erratically. Dunevant apparently pulled over on Hammond Road, but after being boxed in by police, he allegedly backed into one of the patrol cars before taking off again, Fewins said. Fewins said during the second chase a lieutenant was able to employ the stop sticks on Arbutus Hill Road. The device punctured the tires of Dunevant's vehicle and brought it to a stop. Sheriff's officials say when Dunevant was taken into custody he and the car were covered in blood. Fewins said Dunevant had a cut on his hand, but police still are investigating whether all the blood in the vehicle was Dunevant's and what caused the injury.

Cheboygan Accident

A 44-year-old Redford Township woman was killed last Sunday on southbound I-75 after she was tossed from her vehicle during an accident. Cheboygan Sheriff's Department officials say that Klara Wallace apparently lost control of her vehicle just after 6 p.m. while heading south on the interstate. The vehicle entered the median and rolled over several times, ejecting Wallace from the vehicle at the site, just south of Wolverine. Wallace, who apparently was not wearing her seat belt, died at Otsego Memorial Hospital.
Michelle Dukes, a passenger, suffered unknown injuries and was transported to Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey.

Milton Township Accident

MILTON TOWNSHIP - An early morning car accident left one Antrim County man dead on Sunday. Antrim County Sheriff's Department officials are investigating the fatal crash that occurred on Campbell Road in Milton Township around 2:30 a.m. Upon arrival, deputies determined that the vehicle was traveling eastbound when it ran off the roadway and struck a tree. Police are withholding the name of the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Otsego County Accident

A 33-year-old Chesterfield man was killed when his snowmobile struck a tree in Otsego County.
Michigan State Police reported the victim, Kevin Zalenski, struck the tree last Sunday at a curved portion of the snowmobile trail in Hayes Township near the intersection of Northwoods Drive and Heatherwood Street.

Kalkaska Accident

Five inches of heavy, wet snow contributed to a three-car accident that left one dead, the Kalkaska County Sheriff's Department reported. The accident occurred on M-72 near Aller Road in Kalkaska Township at 2:19 p.m. last Sunday. The driver of the first car lost control, clipped a second car, then was hit on the passenger side by an oncoming car, sheriff's deputies reported. The passenger of the first car, a 26-year-old woman from South Lyon, was dead at the scene. The driver, her boyfriend, was transported to Munson Medical Center.

Traverse City Accident

Prosecutors are waiting for results of a blood test to determine whether to charge a woman suspected of being under the influence of marijuana and causing an accident that killed one and injured seven. Under a law that took effect Oct. 1, it might not matter whether the woman was high at the time of the accident, only whether the test comes back positive for marijuana use, Grand Traverse Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle said. Angela Grierson, 28, of Mancelona, died in the accident on M-72 last Sunday afternoon. Seven others - including four children and the woman suspected of causing the accident - suffered serious injuries. The driver who police said caused the accident told police she smoked marijuana about four hours before the accident, LaBelle said. Her name is being withheld pending authorization of charges.

Traverse City Accident

One woman died and seven people, including four children, were seriously injured after a driver suspected of being high on marijuana lost control of her SUV and crashed head-on with a car. Angela Grierson, 28, of Mancelona, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, died in the Jan. 11 crash.
A 39-year-old woman from California, who Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins said may have used marijuana before the accident, lost control of her Dodge Durango on M-72 near Watson Road about 6 p.m. That woman, and a 39-year-old female passenger, also from California, were listed in serious condition at Munson Medical Center Monday. Also listed in serious condition was 2-year-old Tegan Elkins, a passenger in the car. Natosha Elkins, 4, Britany Elkins, 10, and 11-year-old Eden Elkins were airlifted Sunday for treatment at a the University of Michigan hospital, Fewins said. Randy Elkins, 32, the driver of the car, was listed in fair condition at Munson Monday. A second fatality occurred along the same stretch of highway last Sunday, just over the Kalkaska County line.
Kalkaska sheriff's deputies identified the victim of that crash as Elisabeth Dawn Everett, 26, of South Lyon. She was a passenger in a vehicle that lost control on snowy roads and was hit by two other vehicles at 2:20 p.m., police said.

Cheboygan Accident

One student was injured after a motorist crashed into the rear of a school bus stopped to make a left turn.
Emily McCarney, of Cheboygan, age unavailable, was the only student injured among eight who were on the bus Wednesday morning, state police said. She was treated and released from Community Memorial Hospital. The driver of the vehicle that rear-ended the bus, Ralph Derosia, 63, of Onaway, was not wearing a seat belt and also was injured, police said. State police cited Derosia for causing the accident, which happened at 11:40 a.m. on M-33 in Benton Township.

Benzie Accident

A car accident in Benzie County led sheriff's officials to a stash of chemicals used to process methamphetamine. Benzie officials responded to a single-car accident on Lobb Road in Crystal Lake Township just before 4 p.m. Wednesday to find the car had left the roadway and traveled through residential yards before crashing into a maintenance shed. Police say the driver was found at the scene unhurt, but was soon found to be under the influence of methamphetamine and was arrested. A canine search of the driver's vehicle found the drug and ingredients to produce more.