1 child released, 2 remain hospitalized after US-31 crash
GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — One of the children hurt in a Sunday afternoon crash that left seven people, including three children, injured has been released from the hospital.
According to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, one of the girls was released from the hospital. One child was upgraded to serious condition, and the third child remains in critical condition.
“We have multiple witnesses reporting aggressive driving between the vehicles in the area just prior to the crash,” Capt. Jacob Sparks with Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies: 3 children, 4 adults injured in US-31 crash
The crash happened just before 3 p.m. Sunday on southbound US-31 near Fillmore Street in Grand Haven Township. Deputies say the drivers of two vehicles, a Cadillac sedan and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, “engaged in some type of ‘Road Rage’ aggressive driving,” causing them both to lose control of their vehicles and run off the road. The Cadillac stopped in the center median, and the Jeep rolled across the median and stopped in the northbound lanes of US-31.
There were three children in the Jeep at the time of the crash. A 10-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl were ejected from the SUV and had life-threatening injuries. A 6-year-old girl was taken to the hospital by ambulance, deputies say. Sparks told News 8 that the 9 year-old-girl was released.
A release from the sheriff’s office indicated that the 10-year-old and 9-year-old were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. It did not indicate if the 6-year-old was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
“It is possible for people to be buckled and still be ejected,” Sparks said. “But certainly it greatly reduces the risk of that if they’re properly restrained in a safety belt or a car seat.”
Michigan State Police monitor traffic trends and release an annual report each spring. According to its latest year-end comparison report, aggressive driving involving crashes or road rage increased by 4% between 2021 and 2022.
“It does seem like aggressive driving has been a problem. Especially more over the past couple of years,” Sgt. Casey Trucks with Michigan State Police said. “Road rage is never an appropriate response to something you encounter on the road.”
The 29-year-old driver of the Jeep and her 30-year-old passenger had minor injuries and were taken to the hospital. Their conditions have not been released.
Both the 54-year-old driver of the Cadillac and his 38-year-old passenger had minor injuries and did not need treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.
“It’s always best to take a deep breath, move over and if the person wants to pass you, go ahead and let them pass,” Trucks said. “Just do what you have to do to make sure you’re doing your part to keep the road safe.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Ottawa County Central Dispatch at 1.800.249.0911 or Silent Observer at 877.887.4536.
Correction: A previous version of this article included an incorrect statement about seat belt information. The sheriff’s office said the 9- and 10-year-olds were not wearing seat belts. We regret the error, which has been fixed.
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