By Judy Reed

A car struck a Cedar Springs Middle School student attempting to cross the street earlier this week. 

According to Sgt. Todd Probst, with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred on Tuesday, November 13, about 7 a.m. He said a 13-year-old girl was on the edge of the road on Northland Drive, about 20 feet south of Beckett Blvd (at Northland Estates), when she stepped into the roadway to cross to the Middle School and was hit by the front passenger side of a vehicle traveling southbound on Northland.  

The impact sent her flying into the air, and she landed on her hip, but reportedly had no visible injuries. She did complain of some hip pain and was privately transported to the hospital by her parents.  

A bus driver nearby called the accident into dispatch. The driver of the car that hit her, a 16-year-old male, stopped at the scene. The driver of the vehicle following that car also stopped and was a witness at the scene. “From what the driver told us and what the driver of the vehicle following told us, it does not sound like speed was a factor,” said Probst. “The driver was not at fault.” He added that the flashers on the speed limit signs were flashing at the time showing the speed limit was 40 mph.

Some students may have seen the accident. “My daughter said that she heard a thud and turned and saw her friend lying in the grass across from the school,” a parent told the Post. 

School Superintendent Scott Smith sent out an email to parents who had students on bus #7156 and may have seen the accident. He explained the 7th grader was struck while attempting to cross Northland Drive and transported by her parents to the hospital. “Staff members and counselors were available throughout the day today to support students as needed at Red Hawk as well as the Middle and High Schools. If you find that your daughter/son needs additional support to process the events of this morning, please reach out to her/his Principal.

“We are thankful that the student was not seriously injured in the accident. We are also grateful for the members of our community who assisted at the scene until the first responders arrived. We appreciate the efforts of the first responders, the bus driver, and members of the Cedar Springs team this morning.  

“Student safety is always our priority. We will assess this situation to see if there is anything we can do to improve safety measures for our students as they make their way to and from school,” Smith said.

Sgt. Probst said that the City and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office are going to look into that area near the Middle School also to see if there’s anything that can be done.

The accident occurred just north of 14 Mile, near Cedar Creek. Post photo by J. Reed

A tree landed on the roof of this car Wednesday, causing the driver to swerve and roll the car. Post photo by J. Reed

By Judy Reed

A freak accident sent two people from Solon Township to the hospital Wednesday afternoon.

According to both the Kent County Sheriff Department and a witness at the scene, a Chevrolet Cruze was heading south on Algoma about 2:06 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, just north of 14 Mile, when high winds toppled a tree and it landed on the roof of the car.

“They panicked and swerved and flipped the car into the ditch,” explained Brian Bos, of Moline, who was traveling behind the car and saw it happen. He immediately called 911, then went to check on the occupants. “They were pretty shaken up,” he said.

This tree snapped and landed on the roof of a passing car Wednesday, causing it to leave the road. Photo by J. Reed

Shortly after the accident, winds took down another tree just north of the scene.

According to Kent County Sheriff Deputy Michael Allen, the two occupants in the vehicle, driver Sheldon Lennox, 56, and Bobbi Scholten, 52, suffered minor injuries and were transported to Spectrum Butterworth by Rockford Ambulance. They were reportedly on their way to Florida.

Algoma Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene.

A 48-year-old White Cloud woman died last Saturday, October 10, after a two-car accident in Alpine Township.

According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, the accident occurred near the intersection of Fruit Ridge and 9 Mile Road, at 1:34 p.m.

The preliminary investigation showed that a northbound 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Kimberly Voorhees, 48, of White Cloud, crossed the centerline of the roadway to avoid hitting a slower moving vehicle and was struck by a south bound 2005 GMC Sierra Pick-up truck driven by Troy Guerra, 35, of Sparta.

Voorhees was transported to Spectrum Butterworth by Rockford Ambulance, where she later died of her injuries.

Guerra and his three pediatric passengers—Parker Guerra, 5, Tanner Guerra, 8, and Tanner Bormes, 9—were all transported to Spectrum Butterworth and treated for minor injuries.

This accident remains under investigation.

A Stanton man suffered multiple injuries last Wednesday evening, September 16, when the motorcycle he was riding hit a cow in the road.

According to the Montcalm County Sheriff Department, the accident occurred at approximately 8:25 p.m., on Sidney Road, near Hillman Road, in Sidney Township. They reported that Mark Olmstead, 57, of Stanton, was headed east on Sidney Road, on his 2006 Harley Davidson, when he struck a black cow that had entered the roadway. Witnesses reported seeing the cow and chasing it out of the road, but it came back on to the road and was struck before the witnesses had a chance to return to their vehicle.

Olmstead was flown by AeroMed to Spectrum Butterworth and was reported last week to be in stable condition. His current condition is unknown.

The reportedly belonged to Dennis Baese, of Elsie. He had been made aware the cow was out of its pen, and was headed to the area to get it when the crash occurred.

Montcalm County Emergency Medical Services, Aeromed, and the Sheridan Fire Department assisted at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

Kent County Sheriff Deputy Ron Kimbrough and Deputy Scott Abbatoy look at the motorcycle involved in the accident Monday. Post photo by J. Reed.

A Gowen man was injured Monday when he dumped his motorcycle while traveling on the curve on 18 Mile, just south of Fieldstone Meadows.

According to Kent County Sheriff Deputy Scott Abbatoy, the 58-year-old man was traveling toward Cedar Springs, on 18 Mile, when his foot got stuck under the brake, and he tipped the bike. He was not wearing a helmet, and suffered a head injury, as well as lacerations on his hands. He was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A man and woman who were out doing home inspections stopped at the scene when they saw the victim on his hands and knees, with his head bleeding. They let him sit in their vehicle to wait for police and the ambulance. “If you see someone like that, you can’t just drive by,” said the woman. “If it was my dad, I’d want to someone to stop.”

Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue and Rockford Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Terrance Gage, of Courtland Township, died last week after his Jeep was struck at the intersection of Indian Lakes and Pine Island. Photo by woodtv.com.

Terrance Gage

A Cedar Springs man was killed last week in a two-vehicle accident in Algoma Township.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, Terrance Gage II, 39, of Courtland Township, was traveling westbound on Indian Lakes, about 3:30 p.m., May 21, in a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, when he ran the stop sign at Pine Island. His vehicle was then struck by a northbound 1997 Saturn, driven by Johnny Castellanos, 42, of the City of Cedar Springs.

Gage was pronounced dead at the scene.

Castellanos was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

Algoma Fire and Rescue and Rockford Ambulance both assisted at the scene.

Police said that both drivers were wearing seat belts, and alcohol did not appear to be a factor. The crash is still under investigation.

Funeral services were  held for Terrance Gage this week. See his obituary here.

Police identified icy road conditions as a factor in a car accident that killed a Gowen woman Sunday.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, they were called to the scene of a one-car accident on Sunday, January 18, in Oakfield Township. Police determined that Debbie Lee Rauch, 56, of Gowen, was traveling southbound on Lincoln Lake, about 7:42 a.m., in a Jeep Wrangler, when she attempted to pass another vehicle. She then lost control of the Jeep, which left the road and struck a tree. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police determined the icy roads were a factor and alcohol was not involved.

An accident in Reynolds Township Tuesday sent three people to the hospital.

According to the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred about 3:45 p.m. on M-82 near Almy School Road on December 9.

Police said that Jennifer Christensen, 23,  of Howard City, was traveling eastbound and beginning a left turn into a private drive, when she was struck by a westbound vehicle driven by Paul Dupont, 55 years old of Newaygo. The vehicles slid off the road and struck a pedestrian, 16-year-old Felicia Christensen of Howard City, who was retrieving a trash can near the edge of the road.

Jennifer Christensen and her 3-year-old passenger, along with Felicia Christensen were transported to Spectrum Health Butterworth for non-life threatening injuries. Dupont was uninjured.

Montcalm County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted at the scene by Montcalm County Emergency Medical Services and the Howard City Fire Department. The crash remains under investigation.

A Rockford man is in critical condition and a Cedar Springs couple is in stable condition after a traffic accident in Lowell Township Sunday morning, October 26.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, Joseph Kelly, 66, of Rockford, was driving a 1999 Chevrolet Prism southbound on Segwun Avenue, about 9:26 a.m., when he failed to stop at the stop sign at Cascade Road. He was hit by an eastbound 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by David Ladd, 65, of Cedar Springs.

Both vehicles drove off the roadway and into a field. Kelly was not responsive at the accident scene and was transported by Aeromed to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital. He is in critical condition at this time. Lad,d and his wife, Vickie,63, were transported by ambulance to Spectrum. They are in stable condition.

The accident is still under investigation at this time. Neither Alcohol nor speed appear to be factors.

A man died Friday evening after being hit by a vehicle while trying to cross 17 Mile Road in Cedar Springs.

A man was killed on 17 Mile Road in Cedar Springs about 6 p.m. Friday evening, October 17, while crossing the street.

Police identified the man as Bruce Hickman, 53, of the City of Cedar Springs.

Chief Chad Potts said the man had just left a store and was trying to cross the road.

A witness at the scene told the Post that while he was waiting to pull out of the Family Fare driveway, he saw the victim on the south side of the road, near the mailbox at 4186 17 Mile (just east of the Cedar Christian Academy sign), enter the roadway heading north. The witness looked away to the west, and when he looked back east, he saw the man get hit by a westbound vehicle.

The vehicle skidded to a stop in front of Choice One Bank.

Chief Potts said that according to another witness, the victim looked west before he crossed the road, but not east.

First responders gave the man CPR, but he did not survive his injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Alcohol was not a factor on the part of the driver. A toxicology report on the victim is not yet available.

Cedar Springs Police, the Kent County Sheriff Department, Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue, and Rockford Ambulance all assisted at the scene.

The accident is still under investigation.

A memorial service for Mr. Hickman, reportedly a longtime resident of an adult foster care home here in Cedar Springs, is set for Thursday, October 23, at the Pentecostal Church of Kentwood, 2627 44^th St. SE, Kentwood, from 6-8 p.m.

The driver of this car was extricated from the vehicle after a crash Tuesday in Solon Township. Post photo by L. Allen.

The Kent County Sheriff Department responded to the scene of an accident about noon, Tuesday, May 6, at the corner of Algoma and Solon Rd.

According to information the Post collected at the scene, a Chevy Silverado heading east on Solon Road stopped at the stop sign at Algoma, and then pulled out in front of a Pontiac Sunfire heading northbound on Algoma and the two collided.

The driver of the Sunfire had to be extricated from the vehicle, and was transported to the hospital. Her injuries were unknown at press time.

This Chevy Silverado pulled out in front of the Pontiac Sunfire. Post photo by L. Allen.

The driver of the truck declined to be transported to the hospital.

Both Solon and Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue responded to the scene.

Kristy Lynn Beemer

A driver going too fast on a country road has been charged in an accident that killed two people and seriously injured two others.

Kristy Lynn Beemer, 28, of Sand Lake, is charged with a moving violation causing death, a one-year misdemeanor, for the accident that occurred at Cedar Springs Avenue and Egner, Wednesday evening, October 16.

A 2008 Ford Taurus was eastbound on Egner and stopped at the stop sign at Cedar Springs Avenue about 6:22 p.m. The driver attempted to turn north on Cedar Springs Avenue and collided with Beemer’s 2008 Saturn that was southbound.

The backseat passenger in the Taurus, Kathleen Fernn Bitely, 88, of Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene. The front seat passenger, Herbert Donald Smith, 92, from Twin Lakes, was transported to the hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Beemer was also charged with a moving violation causing serious injury to her front seat passenger, Michael McBride, 30 of Sand Lake, and his five-year-old daughter, who suffered two broken legs.

According to Kent County Undersheriff Jon Hess, a witness had said that Beemer was moving at a high rate of speed, and that a “black box” inside the car confirmed it. “There is something in the car, kind of like a black box in a plane, that will tell you how fast the car was going when the air bags deployed,” explained Hess. “It was considerably higher than 55.”

Beemer is free on $100 bond.