Devin Sebastian Tumbleson

A Crystal Township woman is in critical condition after a man she was riding with strangled her and pushed her from the vehicle.

According to the Montcalm County Sheriff Office, on Monday, May 23, two people were traveling on Berridge Road, in Eureka Township, south of Fenwick Road, looking for morel mushrooms, about 7:16 p.m., when they heard someone calling for help.

The two found a 19-year-old woman from Crystal, and she was badly injured, so the two took her to Spectrum United Memorial Hospital in Greenville for treatment. Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office responded to United Memorial regarding the assault victim. The Crystal woman told the deputy that she was traveling with a man in his car and that a disagreement arose between the two. The woman reported that the man became irate and assaulted her, including strangling her and pushing her out of his vehicle.

The victim was later flown from United Memorial to Spectrum Butterworth in Grand Rapids via AeroMed.

The suspect, identified as Devin Sebastian Tumbleson, age 28 from Belding, was initially arrested for aggravated assault and lodged at the Montcalm County Jail.

He was later charged with Assault With Intent To Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder and Assault By Strangulation. Tumbleson was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and he remains behind bars with a $25,000.00 bond.

Police said the man and woman knew each other but were not involved in an intimate relationship.

The Crystal woman remains in the hospital listed in Critical Condition.

The Ionia County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police assisted the Sheriff’s Office.

The case remains under investigation.

A Crystal Township man died and a passenger was critically injured last Saturday, when the man’s ORV went through a hole in the ice on Crystal Lake.

According to the Michigan State Police in Lakeview, the crash occurred on Crystal Lake, in Montcalm County, at approximately 8:00 p.m., February 13.

The preliminary investigation found that an ORV being operated by Lee Avery, 52, of Crystal, was traveling across the frozen lake surface of Crystal Lake when control of the ORV was lost and it went into an uncontrolled slide across the ice. The ORV broke through a fenced in portion of the lake, where a Polar Dip event was held earlier in the day, at Crystal Lake’s Winterfest. The ORV then went into the hole that was cut in the ice for that event, submerging the ORV and the four people aboard in the lake.

Two of the passengers were able to exit the water, while Avery and the front passenger were still submerged. Bystanders were able to partially pull the ORV from the water utilizing a tow strap and pickup truck.

Avery and the other passenger were then attended to by rescue personnel on scene and ultimately taken to Carson City Hospital where Avery was pronounced deceased. The front passenger, a 25-year-old Crystal woman, was then taken to Spectrum Butterworth in Grand Rapids in Critical Condition. The two other passengers had no reported injuries.

It is unknown at this time if alcohol consumption is a factor in the incident as the investigation is ongoing.

Troopers were assisted on scene by the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Department, Carson City Police Department, Crystal Fire Department, and Montcalm County EMS.