OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Two separate crashes in Ottawa County on Saturday landed two 20-year-old drivers in hospitals – and both involved unusual circumstances.
The first accident happened around 11:05 a.m., on 168th Avenue at Hayes Street, in Grand Haven Township. The Sheriff’s Office says witnesses reported to the county’s Central Dispatch Authority that a sedan had rolled over, after entering a ditch. Police say their on-scene investigation showed the Norton Shores man had been driving on 168th Avenue when he suffered an unspecified medical issue. The vehicle crossed over into the northbound lanes and struck a stop sign at the Hayes Street intersection, before re-entering the southbound lanes. Investigators say the vehicle then came to rest on its side in a six-foot-deep ditch.
“Upon arrival, the deputies found him to be breathing, but non-responsive,” say police. “The patient was transported to North Ottawa Community Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.”
In the other, unrelated accident, a 20-year-old Grand Rapids man’s vehicle wound up in a ditch after suffering a mechanical problem, according to an Ottawa County Sheriff’s sergeant. That was on 8th Avenue south of Leonard Street around 2:25 p.m. Saturday.
The Sheriff’s Office says the driver was heading north on 8th Avenue when something went wrong with the steering system in his 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. Police say that caused him to lose control and swerve into the opposing lane of traffic. He then over-corrected and crashed into a ditch on the side of the road, according to a news release. Police say the driver suffered upper-body injuries and was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in stable condition.
