5 dead following fiery, 2-vehicle crash in Michigan
Published May 10, 2017
Associated Press
Police say five people are dead in Michigan after a 22-year-old driver blew through a stop sign and smashed into another vehicle.
Two people were killed in one car and three in the other. The crash happened late Tuesday in Livingston County's Oceola Township, about 35 miles northwest of Detroit.
State police say three more people are in critical condition, including the drivers.
Investigators say a car failed to stop at a sign and struck a vehicle traveling east on Michigan highway 59. One vehicle caught fire. Sgt. Robert Mossing tells the Detroit Free Press that speed limits approaching the intersection are 55 mph.
He says investigators are "trying to sift through the details and figure out exactly what happened."
No names have been released.
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Five people died and three are critically injured after a two-car T-bone crash Tuesday night in Livingston County, according to Michigan State Police.
A 22-year-old male driver from Fenton and a passenger are in critical condition, and two passengers died at the scene. Their vehicle apparently ran a stop sign while being driven southbound at 10:40 p.m. on Argentine Road at M-59, colliding with the other car, police Lt. Mario Gonzales said at a news conference broadcast Wednesday by Channel 4 (WDIV-TV).
From the other car, a 39-year-old male driver from Oakland County is in critical condition. A 35-year-old female passenger from Sterling Heights and two 70-year-old male and female passengers from Macomb County all died at the scene, Gonzales said.
The crash in Oceola Township, east of Howell, left both vehicles in a field off the southeast corner of the intersection. The southbound vehicle caught fire, and the other was left on its side.
The speed limits approaching the intersection are 55 m.p.h., police Sgt. Robert Mossing said this morning.
"It's a tragic crash," he said. "We're still trying to sift through the details and figure out exactly what happened."
At a press conference Wednesday, May 10, 2017, Michigan State Police Lt. Mario Gonzales talks about the fatal accident at the corner of Argentine Road and M-59 in Oceola Township Tuesday evening. (Photo: Gillis Benedict/Livingston Daily)
Gonzales said the eastbound vehicle would have had a flashing yellow light as it approached the intersection. He said a recent rise in fatal crashes is a cause for concern.
"We are trying to make sure people are aware of how important it is to drive safely," Gonzales said, adding that there's "nothing worse" for a trooper than coming upon a scene where people are dead. "This shouldn't happen."
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OCEOLA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A car driven by a 22-year-old man zipped through a stop sign and smashed into another vehicle in southeastern Michigan, killing five people including a woman who was returning from a banquet as the state's probation agent of the year, authorities said Wednesday.
"This should have never happened. People should be paying attention to their speed, to the traffic signals," Michigan State Police Lt. Mario Gonzales said.
The crash happened late Tuesday in Livingston County's Oceola Township, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
Investigators said a car driven by a young man from the Fenton area failed to stop at a sign and struck a vehicle traveling east on Michigan Highway 59. Gonzales described it as a "T-bone" crash in a rural area.
Two people were killed in one car and three in the other. Three more people were in critical condition, including the drivers.
The dead included Candice Dunn, 36, who was returning home from a state Corrections Department banquet where she was honored as parole/probation agent of the year, spokesman Chris Gautz said.
Dunn's 70-year-old mother was also killed, he said. They were in the car that had the right of way.
"Everyone here is in disbelief and shock. She was beloved by everybody," Gautz said of Dunn. "Yesterday was such a high and a celebration of the work she did."
Speed limits approaching the intersection are 55 mph (88 kph), Sgt. Robert Mossing said.
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Oakland County Probation Agent Candice Dunn, who was selected as the Michigan Department of Corrections’ 2017 Parole/Probation Agent of the Year, was killed Tuesday night in a traffic crash in Livingston County.
Dunn was returning home from the MDOC’s Employee Appreciation Banquet in East Lansing, where she was honored for her dedication to helping those under her supervision succeed and her commitment to improving her community.
“We are devastated by the loss of Agent Candice Dunn, whose passion for her work changed so many lives for the better,” said Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington. “Her ambition and her drive to make Michigan a better and safer place will leave a lasting impact on our department.”
Dunn was named the department’s 2017 Agent of the Year in April, and said at the time that she felt humbled to receive the award.