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12-Year-Old Boy Driving When Car Crashes

Posted at 9:29 PM, Nov 09, 2012
and last updated 2013-02-20 12:51:49-05

A 12-year-old boy was driving a car that crashed and rolled over just after 12 p.m. Friday in Grand Haven, Twp.

“I was pretty much just sitting and doing my bills and I heard a loud crash that literally echoed through the house.” Diana Currier said. “It was so loud that I knew it had to be bad so I’m yelling at my daughter to hurry up and come on and I’m calling 911 as I’m running across the yard.”

At 12:14 p.m. Friday, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a careless driving complaint involving a Plymouth Breeze that was southbound on 144th Avenue from Lincoln Street in Grand Haven Township. Callers said the car was going all over the roadway, had been off the road several times and had had several near misses with other vehicles.

The vehicle finally left the roadway a half mile north of Lake Michigan Drive, hitting loose gravel before going on a wild ride.

“He literally just covered the whole road with gravel, he threw it up in there and then he hit the telephone service area and literally bent it right over, took the telephone post out of the ground,” Currier said. “”It was upside down coming across the lawn and it hit their post here and the thing that come off the telephone post, the telephone post and telephone thing and everything was underneath it literally drug it right over with the car.”

Deputies found that a 12-year-old boy from Grand Haven Township had been driving.

“I don’t think there wasn’t one spot on the car that didn’t have a dent.”  She added

Shawna Harinton lives across from where the car was on its roof. “I was thinking that he was seriously hurt as they were taking such precautions but when they got him out he seemed fine minus he said he had some pain.” Shawna said.

When asked why he wasn’t in class, Shawna believed it was because area kids only had a half day of school Friday.

The 12-year-old was not seriously injured. He was extricated from the car by the Grand Haven Township Fire Department and was taken by North Ottawa Community ambulance to North Ottawa Community Hospital where the boy was listed in good condition later Friday. The child’s name was withheld because he is a juvenile.

The 12-year-old was wearing a seat belt and air bags were deployed during the crash.

Deputies said the incident remains under Investigation to determine if and what charges are applicable.

Responding units included the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Haven Township Fire Rescue and North Ottawa Co