News
Man accused of drunk driving on 28th Street causing injury appears in court
GRAND RAPIDS. MI – The man police say was drunkenly speeding on 28th Street SE before he and his passenger were ejected from his vehicle in a crash remains free on bond as his attorney gathers information. Police say Christopher Lee Bellgraph, 22, of Dorr, was driving on 28th Street SE, east of Breton Road, with passenger Jayson Thomas Rings, 22, of Grand Rapids, in the car around 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 6. Investigators said Bellgraph's Dodge Neon, traveling east on 28th, crossed the center line and struck the oncoming vehicle of Matthew Ethan Doyle, 28, of Wyoming. Doyle, who was driving a GMC pickup, was taken to Saint Mary Health Care's with multiple broken bones and internal injuries, police said. The crash shut down 28th just east of Breton for nearly seven hours during peak morning travel times. Bellgraph and Rings were ejected from the Neon and both sustained serious head and internal injuries, according to investigators. Bellgraph is charged with two counts of drunken driving causing serious injury related to his passenger and the other driver Bellgraph’s attorney Donald Fagan wants to review results from the investigation and toxicology tests, so the probable cause hearing scheduled for this morning in Grand Rapids District Court will be delayed for a few weeks. Bellgraph remains free on a personal recognizance bond.
Kalamazoo man seriously injured in car-bike crash
HOPKINS TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 21-year-old Kalamazoo man had a serious head injury after he was hit by a car late Sunday near Wayland. Kelsey Goode was hit while trying to cross 135th Avenue near 16th Street about 10:46 p.m. Sunday. He was not wearing a helmet, Allegan Couunty sheriff's deputies said. The driver of the westbound car, Jennifer Birman, 27, of Hopkins, told police she did not see the bicycle. She had minor injuries in the crash. Rescuers arrived at the scene to find Goode unconscious. He later regained consciousness as he was taken to Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. Police said the bicycle was not equipped with any lights.
Bicyclist Hospitalized After Being Hit By Car
A man was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a car while riding his bike in Allegan County. It happened around 10:45 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of 135th Avenue and 16th Street in Hopkins Township. Witnesses told police Kelsey Goode, 21, from Kalamazoo was trying to cross 135th Avenue on his bike and was hit by a westbound car. He was knocked unconscious and sustained a severe head wound. Police say he was not wearing a helmet and did not have any lights on his bike. He later regained consciousness and was taken to Borgess Hospital. The driver of the car Jennifer Birman, 27, from Hopkins told police that she didn't see Goode crossing the road. She suffered minor injuries. The crash is still under investigation.
Crashes close eastbound I-94 at Galesburg exit
GALESBURG, MI --I-94 eastbound is closed at mile marker 88 in Galesburg as Michigan State Police clean up several crashes, according to Kalamazoo-area dispatchers. A Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office dispatcher said cars are backed up from some crashes in Calhoun County, but he said he did not know how far they were backed up. A dispatcher in Calhoun County said state police are responding to "numerous" crashes on I-94 both eastbound and westbound around mile markers 92 and 94, but did not know how many crashes there were. Neither dispatcher knew the number of vehicles involved or number of injuries.
Man dies, another man severely injured in car accident in Marcellus Township
MARCELLUS TOWNSHIP, MI – A New Mexico man died in a car accident in Cass County Saturday morning. Robert Haney, 47, was killed in a single-car crash on Burlington Road south of Marcellus Highway around 6:50 a.m., according to a news release from the Cass County Sheriff's Office. John Eastes, 48, of Three Rivers, was driving when he lost control of his Chevy Impala and left the roadway. The vehicle struck a tree and came to rest in a swampy area. Eastes was severely injured and was transported to Bronson Hospital by AirCare, according to the release. It is unknown at this time if alcohol was a factor in the crash. The accident remains under investigation.
Southbound lanes on U.S. 127 closed after accident
VEVAY TWP.--Southbound lanes on U.S. 127 near Barnes Road will be closed for about an hour or more as officials investigate an accident that occurred after a camper being pulled by an SUV caught fire. The camper caught fire as it was being pulled northbound on the highway. The car pulled off to the side as it continued to burn, and a propane tank explosion then sparked a grass fire, Ingham County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim O'Neill said. The sheriff's office was among a group of crash responders that included the Leslie Police Department. There were no injuries in the first accident, he said. The first accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. near Barnes Road. A car being driven southbound on U.S. 127 by a 62-year-old female had slowed down to observe the first accident when it was rear-ended by another vehicle traveling south, O'Neill said. The female's car was not impeded by any southbound traffic, and the car behind it was traveling at a normal rate of speed for a highway, O'Neill said. The elderly female's car careened off the freeway westbound toward Churchill Road, eventually hitting a telephone pole. Downed utility lines complicated rescue efforts for the female and her passenger, a 77-year-old male. Both were airlifted to Lansing's Sparrow Hospital, where they are in critical condition, O'Neill said. Northbound traffic on U.S. 127 is now resumed, O'Neill said.
Ravenna man charged with 15-year felony in alleged marijuana-linked traffic death
MUSKEGON, MI -- Steven Paul Spencer of Ravenna has been charged with driving while intoxicated causing death for allegedly smoking marijuana and causing a head-on crash Saturday on Heights Ravenna Road. The crash killed John Shumaker, 37, of Grand Haven. Spencer, 24, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the felony. According to court records, he posted a $25,000 surety bond Sunday after a Muskegon County 60th District Court magistrate signed a warrant for his arrest. Spencer was scheduled for a walk-in arraignment June 29. The crash happened around 4:20 p.m. on Heights Ravenna near Ensley Road in Sullivan Township. Shumaker was declared dead at the scene, and his daughter was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a Muskegon hospital. Shumaker was driving a Ford Focus west on Heights-Ravenna when Spencer's eastbound 1986 Chevrolet pickup truck tried to pass another truck heading east, Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler said earlier. The pickup truck driver slammed head-on into the Ford, he said. Roesler said Spencer admitted smoking marijuana before the crash. The sheriff said toxicology results are pending. Spencer's attorney, Terry J. Nolan, said Spencer admitted smoking "part of a joint" some "five to six hours earlier." Nolan questioned whether that had anything to do with the accident. "To me this is more about a young driver making an irresponsible decision to pass in the pouring rain," Nolan said. "He's devastated, obviously." Spencer has a 2008 misdemeanor conviction of minor in possession of alcohol, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay $200 in fines and costs, records show.
Ann Arbor schools employee 1 of 2 killed in Northern Michigan car accident
Yolanda Bell, 59, of Pittsfield Township died at the scene of the crash, according to police. At 9:54 a.m. Monday, deputies were dispatched to the accident on M-115 near the Wexford County Road Commission building. Bell was traveling northwest-bound on M-115 when she crossed the centerline and struck an SUV headed southeast-bound, according to a release from the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office. The SUV then overturned and hit a semi-tractor trailer, which was headed in the same direction in an outside lane. Bell and the driver of the SUV, 29-year-old Adam Antczak of Monroe, were both pronounced dead on the scene. A 29-year-old female passenger in Antczak’s vehicle was airlifted to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City with serious injuries. She remains in the Intensive Care Unit. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in the accident and seat belts were in use by all three people, police said. The accident remains under investigation. Bell was an employee of the Ann Arbor Public Schools' Student Intervention and Support Services Department, where she was a transition coordinator. District spokeswoman Liz Margolis said central administrators are reaching out to Bell’s husband before allowing school employees to speak about Bell. “She was a very private person, so we are trying to respect that,” Margolis said, adding those who were close with Bell are clearly very upset today by the news of her death and a crisis team has been made available for AAPS staff.