COOPERSVILLE, Mich. – A war vet who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars died after crashing his motorcycle in Ottawa County Wednesday.
The crash happened at about 1:30 p.m. at 64th Avenue and Randall Street.
Friends of the family have identified the crash victim as 26-year-old Mike VanHolstyn of Grand Rapids. He was active duty in the army and served 15 months in Iraq and a year in Afghanistan.
Investigators said the motorcyclist was heading west on Randall and the car was going south on 64th Avenue. The car, driven by a 52-year-old Muskegon County man was stopped at a stop sign. The car pulled out, not seeing the motorcycle, said investigators. Deputies said the 26-year-old Grand Rapids man on the motorcycle took evasive action before the crash and ‘put the bike down’ but was hit anyway.
Emergency responders attempted to save the motorcylist’s life by using an AED but he died on the scene. He was wearing a helmet.
Wednesday’s crash was the fourth deadly accident since Saturday, the second involving a motorcycle, according to authorities on the scene. There have been 13 deadly crashes in Ottawa County so far in 2014 which is about the same number of deadly crashes in the area since last year.
The area of 64th and Randall was closed but was reopened just before 4 p.m.
