Five people were injured in two separate crashes Aug. 14 on eastbound I-96 near the Ionia exit. All five were transported to area hospitals for evaluation or treatment; none of the injuries are thought to be life threatening.
At 6:19 p.m., Ionia County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a crash involving a 29-year-old Wupming man who lost control of his vehicle while passing other cars, went off the road. hit the guardrail and spun several times before stopping on the shoulder. The driver possibly suffered a medical emergency which caused him to lose control, deputies said. He and his passenger were taken to the hospital for evaluation.
At 6:47 p.m. while deputies had the expressway partially shut down and were investigating the crash, they were dispatched to another personal injury crash just west of the first one. Traffic was down to one lane eastbound and the cars were all slowing down when a 29-year-old man from Traverse City, driving in the slowed traffic, looked down at his phone to check an alert and rear-ended the vehicle in front of him.
The two women and a man from the Grand Rapids area who were in the vehicle were also transported to the hospital. The Traverse City man was unhurt and was issued a citation. Berlin-Orange Fire, Life EMS, and Reed and Hoppes assisted deputies at both crash scenes.
Photo: Emergency personnel work at the second crash Saturday evening near the Ionia exit on I-96.
(Courtesy of Ionia County Sheriff’s Office)
