Weekly Update on Injuries, Accidents and Wrongful Death March 7

Beet truck overturns, shuts down roadway

BAY CITY — A beet truck has overturned on Euclid Avenue near Salzburg Avenue in Bay City. The driver of the beet truck said he lost control of the truck while making a left turn onto Euclid. The driver said he felt the beets shift before the truck went over. He was heading to the beet processing plant nearby. The driver is in good condition. http://www.minbcnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=1016089#.UxnkO_ldWSo

Winter whips West Michigan, causing accidents

GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) — Police dispatchers around West Michigan are telling drivers to stay off the roads if they can, and to slow down if they cannot avoid travel. There were numerous accidents across the area Thursday morning, including multi-vehicle crashes in Newaygo and Ottawa counties. http://www.wzzm13.com/story/news/local/2014/02/27/weather-winter-storm-crashes/5857867/

Man, 23, killed in Shelby Township industrial accident

State safety officials will try to determine why a 23-year-old man died Wednesday morning in an industrial accident at a Shelby Township factory. The victim, identified by his employer as Erik Deighton of Washington Township, was killed about 6 a.m. as he worked on a press machine at Colonial Plastics, a manufacturing facility located north of 23 Mile Road, east of Schoenherr Road. http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20140305/man-23-killed-in-shelby-township-industrial-accident

Former Jabil CEO’s wife in hospital after snowmobile crash in Michigan

The wife of prominent area businessman Tim Main, who ran the electronics company Jabil for a dozen years, was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident last month and is still recovering at a hospital in Michigan. Around noon on Feb. 15, Donna Main, 49, of St. Petersburg, was gassing up her snowmobile in Thompsonville, Mich. After she fueled up, Main tried to make a U-turn with her 8-year-old son on the machine and for an unknown reason lost control, said Sgt. Troy Lamerson of the Benzie County Sheriff’s Office. http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/former-jabil-ceos-wife-in-hospital-after-snowmobile-crash-in-michigan/2168747

Southwest Michigan police worked nearly 4,000 traffic crashes in January, up 30 percent over last year

KALAMAZOO, MI — Police were inundated with slideoffs, crashes and multi-car pileups on Southwest Michigan roads over the past two months and the unrelenting snow and bitter cold. Police agencies within the Michigan State Police’s Fifth District handled 3,907 traffic crashes — an average of 63 a day — in January, up 30 percent from the 2,982 recorded in January 2013, according to crash data collected by MSP. The district takes in Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties. http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/02/number_of_crashes_increased_50.html

Teen boy and girl killed in separate crashes, 2 more seriously injured

MONROE COUNTY, MI & VAN WERT COUNTY, OH — The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol in Van Wert are both investigating fatal accidents involving teen drivers. In Ash Township, Michigan, 17-year-old Chelsea Klocek was killed in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of N. Telegraph Road and Sigler Road. http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=1015468

Two Church Vans Roll Over Miles Apart on US-131

KENT COUNTY, Mich. (Feb. 16, 2014) – Within the course of an hour, two vans belonging to two West Michigan Wellspring Churches got into separate rollover accidents that eerily mirror each other, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department says. The crashes occurred between 9 and 10 a.m. Sunday morning on US-131, just seven miles apart. Deputies say the first van, from the Wellspring Church on Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids, was carrying six people when it rolled over at US-131 southbound near Ann Street. First responders freed at least three victims who were pinned inside the vehicle. Michigan State Police says three people in that van were transported to Butterworth Hospital; they were later released with minor injuries. Troopers say the 60-year-old male driver lost control and the van flipped into the median. Troopers say early morning snow and driving too fast for the conditions led to this crash. http://fox17online.com/2014/02/16/two-church-vans-roll-over-ejecting-passengers-on-us-131-just-miles-apart/

Traffic alert: Rollover crash on northbound I-75 in Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT TOWNSHIP, MI — A rollover crash occurred today on northbound Interstate 75 near Bridgeport, Saginaw County Central Dispatch reports. The crash happened at 3:23 p.m. Sunday, March 2, just south of the Bridgeport exit at mile marker 144 and was reported as an injury accident, Saginaw County Central Dispatch said. http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2014/03/traffic_alert_rollover_crash_o_1.html

56-year-old Flint man in critical condition after he was ejected from vehicle in rollover

MT. MORRIS TWP, MI — A 56-year-old Flint man was listed in critical condition after he was involved in a rollover accident on Monday afternoon, March 3. Mt. Morris Township Police Lt. Matt Lasky said the man was driving northbound on I-475 north of Saginaw Street around 3 p.m. Monday when he drifted to the right shoulder of the road. He over-corrected and went across the highway and struck the median, Lasky said. http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/03/56-year-old_flint_man_in_criti.html

Man loses life in M-59 crash (with photo gallery)

A 20-year-old Flint man died Tuesday when his sport utility vehicle struck a box truck head-on in Oceola Township in Livingston County, police said. Sheriff Bob Bezotte said crash investigators continue to investigate why the victim, Demetrius Sanders, drove across the centerline of M-59. http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20140226/NEWS01/302260003/Man-loses-life-M-59-crash-photo-gallery-