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MDOT Plans Audit on Fatal Stretch of M-40

Posted at 9:10 PM, Dec 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-19 06:42:16-05

Teacher Killed in M-40 CrashHOLLAND, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Transportation will audit a stretch of road where Hamilton teacher Joshua Hoppe was killed earlier this month.

MDOT representative Pete Pfeiffer announced the decision Wednesday at the Holland City Council meeting, several city council members confirmed.

The meeting was the result of a community petition to install a spotlight on M-40 south of I-196 near the Tulip City Truck Stop, where the accident happened.

Hoppe, 30, of Zeeland was killed Dec. 4 while traveling southbound on his way to work.  He collided with a semi-truck as it left the truck stop, and was pinned inside his vehicle underneath the truck’s trailer.  He was dead when crews arrived on the scene.

This stretch of M-40 has had seven crashes since 2004, two of them fatal.

The month-long audit will start in January.  MDOT will monitor drivers’ behavior and then decide if any further action is necessary.