Two people were hurt Friday afternoon, June 17, in a two-car accident on Main Street in downtown Cedar Springs.

Two vehicles collided at Elm and Main Street in Cedar Springs Friday, sending two to the hospital. Post photo by J. Reed.

According to Sgt. Ed Good, of the Cedar Springs Police, a vehicle headed west on Elm Street pulled out in front of a SUV heading south on Main Street a little after 2 p.m.
Joycelinn Haff, 23, of Sand Lake, was turning south on to Main Street off westbound Elm, when she failed to yield to the SUV that was southbound on Main. The SUV, driven by Mary Johnson, 55, of Cedar Springs, then crashed into Haff’s car.

Both drivers complained of neck pain and were transported to the hospital by Rockford Ambulance.

The Cedar Springs Fire Department assisted at the scene.

A Greenville man veered off the road and hit a tree on Grosvenor, near Northland Drive Monday morning. Photo courtesy of WOOD-TV.

A Greenville man was injured Monday when his vehicle slammed into a tree on Grosvenor, south of Sand Lake.

The Kent County Sheriff Department received a call about 8:56 a.m. Monday that a vehicle was on fire with someone trapped inside near Grosvenor and Northland Drive. When deputies arrived, they found a man pinned in the vehicle, but no fire.

According to Deputy Jason VanDyke, Allen Peckham, 36, of Greenville, was traveling on Grosvenor, east of Northland, when his vehicle left the road and struck a tree. Peckham was able to talk with deputies and fire personnel on the scene, but had an altered level of consciousness. He was extricated from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life, and flown by Aeromed to the hospital, with multiple leg fractures.

It is unknown at this time why his vehicle left the roadway. The accident is still under investigation.

By Judy Reed

An early morning rollover on US131 near 17 Mile Road tied up traffic Tuesday for about an hour and a half.

This accident tied up traffic early Tuesday morning.

According to Michigan State Police Trooper Miller, a couple from Kalamazoo stopped on the side of northbound US131 early Tuesday morning, October 6. When they attempted to pull their suburban and trailer back on to the highway about 7:04 a.m., they pulled in front of a van in the right lane. The couple then spun around and lost control, rolling both their suburban and trailer. The van also ran off the right side of the road. Another vehicle ran over some debris, damaging their oil pan.

The right lane of travel was closed, and they completely shut down northbound US131 a couple of minutes at a time while righting the vehicles.

Trooper Miller said there were only minor injuries, such as cuts, and no one was transported to the hospital. “It could have been a lot more serious,” he said.

The Cedar Springs Police Department, Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue, Solon Fire and Rescue, and Rockford Ambulance all assisted at the scene.

The scene was cleared at 8:30 a.m.

A Kent City teen was seriously injured last weekend in a crash in Sparta Township.

According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, Samuel Limon, 17, was traveling eastbound on 17 Mile about 3 p.m. Sunday September 13, in a Dodge Caravan, when he ran the stop sign at Fruit Ridge Avenue and was struck by a southbound F150 pickup.

Limon was airlifted by AeroMed to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital with neck, back and chest pain, and facial injuries. He was later upgraded to fair condition.

The driver of the pickup, Charles Crandall, 48, of Grand Rapids, was transported to Butterworth Hospital by Rockford Ambulance with arm, leg and stomach pain.

Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, and both were wearing seatbelts.

A man could be facing charges for fleeing the scene of a personal injury accident last Friday.

The Kent County Sheriffs Department were called to the scene of an accident at 22 Mile Road and Red Pine Drive in Tyrone Township about 7:15 a.m. September 4. According to Lt. Kevin Kelly, a Jeep driven by a 37-year-old woman was traveling south on Red Pine Drive NW, when it was struck by a Grand Prix traveling westbound on 22 Mile. The Grand Prix failed to stop at the intersection, and struck the driver’s side door of the Jeep. Both the female driver and her 8-year-old son, who was a passenger in the backseat, were taken to the hospital with what were believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the Grand Prix fled the scene on foot but was tracked with the assistance of a Michigan State Police canine unit and taken into custody.

According to Lt. Kelley, the case is still under investigation, and they plan to pursue some type of charges against the driver that fled.

The Montcalm County prosecutor’s office is considering whether to file charges against a Coral woman who left her two young children inside a running vehicle while shopping last week Thursday.

According to Howard City Police Chief Steve DeWitt, they were called to the Dollar General Store on M-82 in Howard City just after 11 a.m. to check on the well-being of the two children, ages 5 and 1. While being left alone in the vehicle by their 22-year-old mother, the 5-year-old put the Dodge Caravan into reverse. The van traveled through the parking lot, over two curbs and a grassy area, and then entered highway M-82 and came to a rest sideways, blocking both east and westbound traffic.

A passerby stopped and assisted by moving the vehicle back into the parking lot out of moving traffic.

The mother of the children came out after finishing her shopping and left the scene with the children prior to the arrival of the police. Howard City Police Officer McDonald tracked her and the children to a home in nearby Coral.

Chief DeWitt said it is illegal to leave a vehicle running unattended, as is leaving children unattended in any vehicle. Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle can result in charges from misdemeanor to a felony if a child is harmed.

A quick turn into a driveway on Lincoln Lake Avenue to look at a van for sale resulted in a trip to the hospital for four residents Sunday.

Four people went to the hospital after this accident in Oakfield Township Sunday.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, Virgil Turner, 53, of Cedar Springs, was southbound on Lincoln Lake Avenue, just north of 14 Mile Road in his Dodge Durango just after 6 p.m. August 30, when he attempted a turn in front of a northbound Ford F150 truck. The vehicles collided, sending the Durango into a tree before it flipped onto its top.

Both Oakfield and Spencer Township Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, and extricated the victims. Oakfield Fire Chief Mickey Davis said he was the first rescuer on the scene, and that the Durango was smoking when he arrived, but he could not confirm another media report that said neighbors had doused flames before firefighters arrived. “No one said anything about that to us,” said Davis.

Rescued from the Durango was Turner, who suffered minor injuries; front seat passenger Carol Fisher, 44, of Cedar Springs, who suffered minor injuries; and rear-seat passenger Edward Fisher, 24, of Cedar Springs, who suffered a head injury. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Merle Glendon, 67, of Gowen, was driving the Ford F150, and he complained of head and neck pain. All were transported to Butterworth Hospital by Rockford Ambulance.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Cedar Springs man suffered severe injuries when he crashed his car into some heavy construction equipment last weekend in Algoma Township.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, Eric Darling, 25, of Cedar Springs, was traveling northbound on Northland Drive, just north of 13 Mile Road at 3:38 a.m. Sunday morning, August 30, when his 1993 Pontiac Sunfire left the roadway and crashed head-on into a skid steer loader.

Algoma Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and extricated the driver from the vehicle. He was airlifted by AeroMed to Butterworth Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Rockford Ambulance also assisted at the scene.

According to police, the victim was alone in the vehicle, and alcohol is believed to be a factor. The accident is still under investigation.

Muskegon woman urges drivers to “think before they drink”

It has been nearly 12 years since Dianna Ockaski’s life was changed after a crash with a drunk driver. The Muskegon woman was on her way to work in the early morning when a drunk driver, traveling about 55 mph, broadsided her vehicle and trapped her inside.

It took firefighters 45 minutes to free her from the vehicle, and when they did, she was taken into emergency surgery to remove a large piece of glass from her eye and reconstruct the eye and socket. She received more than 110 stitches in her face and suffered soft tissue damage to her ribs and severe bruising over most of her body.

Although the crash occurred over a decade ago, she still struggles daily with eye issues, including infection and discomfort. “I would never want anyone to go through what I’ve been through,”Ockaski said. “I want people to think before they drink and get in the car. This is avoidable.”

Ockaski and five other victims and their families across the state are being recognized and remembered as officers in West Michigan and across the state step up drunk driving patrols leading up to Labor Day. They started the patrols last Friday, August 21.

“More people are injured and killed in drunk driving crashes in August than in any other month,” Office of Highway Safety Planning Director Michael L. Prince said. “Everyone should be aware of the extra patrols and remember to plan ahead and never drive drunk.”

OHSP is coordinating the Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. crackdown by administering federal traffic safety funds to more than 300 agencies in 54 counties, including Kent, Montcalm, Newaygo, Muskegon and others. The Cedar Springs Police Department will be one of the agencies taking part in the crackdown, which runs Aug. 21 through September 7. According to Chief Roger Parent, they will have at least one extra patrol out for the program. “We’ll look for legal reasons to stop vehicles, and will look for alcohol-impaired drivers. We’ll also encourage seat-belt use,” he noted.

About 35 percent of all traffic fatalities in Michigan involve alcohol and/or drugs, including four during last year’s Labor Day weekend.

A first-time drunk driving conviction carries heavy penalties, including up to 93 days in jail, up to a $500 fine, up to 360 hours of community service, six points on a driver’s license, and up to 180 days license suspension.

Convicted drunk drivers will be subject to a $1,000 fee for two consecutive years, for a total of $2,000 in additional costs. Anyone who refuses a breath test the first time is given an automatic one-year driver’s license suspension.