Colwater man pleads no contest in crash that killed bicyclist in April 2021

Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter
·2 min read

BRANCH COUNTY — A 28-year-old Coldwater man has pleaded no contest to charges he faced after he struck a bicyclist with his car two years ago while under the influence of drugs.

Jacob Daniel Ward pleaded no contest Monday, March 20, to one count of operating while intoxicated causing death, a felony. He will be sentenced to 2-15 years in prison in Branch County Circuit Court on May 1 by Circuit Judge Bill O’Grady. Several lesser charges were dismissed with a plea agreement in place with the prosecutor's office.

Daniel Ward, with his attorney Thomas Schaffer, entered a no contest plea Monday to causing death while under the influence of drugs.
Daniel Ward, with his attorney Thomas Schaffer, entered a no contest plea Monday to causing death while under the influence of drugs.

Ward admitted to Michigan State Police troopers on April 12, 2021, he used methamphetamine and marijuana earlier in the day before getting behind the wheel. While driving south on South Angola Road, he struck 25-year-old bicyclist Era Denna Hall, who also was traveling south on that road.

Troopers found marijuana in the truck. The court ruled the fact Hall’s own blood alcohol level was .21 at the time of death, almost three times the legal limit, was not a relevant factor the defense could admit during trial. 

Data from his cellphone showed Ward was using the device to browse radio-controlled toy cars shortly before the crash.

MSP investigators fitted the Hall bike into the impact point on the GMC Yukon at the scene of the fatal crash.
MSP investigators fitted the Hall bike into the impact point on the GMC Yukon at the scene of the fatal crash.

Ward claimed Hall swerved from the shoulder of the road in front of his 2002 GMC Yukon truck.

MSP accident reconstruction expert Sgt. Brandon Davis showed Hall was in the middle of the lane when the front of the truck struck the back of her bike squarely.

"We held the bicycle up to the front bumper showing the placement and direction when the impact occurred. The damage to the bicycle fits the front bumper like a puzzle piece," Davis wrote in his report.

More: Victim in April 12 bike fatality identified

More: Expert testifies on details of fatal April bike crash

Michigan law changed 12 days before the crash, giving bicyclists the same right-of-way as any other vehicle in the traffic lane. Michigan law was changed after five bicyclists died in a fatal Kalamazoo crash in June 2016.

The crash occurred just minutes before sunset on a partly cloudy evening.  

There were no eyewitnesses, but another driver later came forward. That driver reported he saw Hall riding in the middle of the road, but was able to go around her as both headed south toward Kinderhook.

Subscribe: Follow this story. Subscribe to the Daily Reporter

Davis examined the onboard vehicle computer, which showed Ward's speed at about 58 mph. Because of oversized tires, the actual speed was closer to 62 mph.

There was no indication of braking or swerving prior to the crash.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Colwater man pleads no contest in crash that killed bicyclist in 2021