On Aug. 31 at approximately 2:45 P.M., Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, Saranac Fire, and Life EMS responded to a personal injury accident involving multiple vehicles on W I-96 near Hastings Rd.

Investigation led deputies to believe the vehicles were traveling west bond entering a construction zone, when they were approaching a zipper merge. This caused vehicles to have to slow down and enter using the right lane.

 

*Crash photo provided by the Ionia County Sheriff's Department

 

At this point the driver of the black Dodge pick-up advised they did not notice traffic slowing and stopping and rear-ended the Subaru Legacy. This caused the Legacy to come to a stop after hitting the cable barriers dividing the highway and forced the pickup to spin out and hit the rear end of the Honda CR-V.

The driver of the Dodge and Honda sustained apparent but minor injuries. The driver of the Legacy was transported to a nearby hospital to be evaluated for serious internal injuries.

This investigation remains open. Speed appears to be a factor in this incident.

Assisting on the scene was Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, Saranac Fire, Life EMS, MDOT, Reed and Hoppes and Ionia County Central Dispatch.

Thank you to the concerned citizens who called and assisted first responders on scene.