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Victims identified in U.S. 131 wrong-way crash that killed 3

Posted at 5:22 PM, Mar 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-04 19:31:20-05

OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Authorities have identified the three people killed and two others critically hurt when a motorist driving the wrong way on southbound U.S. 131 slammed head-on into another vehicle Friday.

The crash occurred about 4:45 p.m. just north of Stadium Drive in Oshtemo Township, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department.

Undersheriff Paul Matyas said a Ford Fiesta entered the highway at Stadium and was heading north in the southbound lanes when it collided head-on with a pickup truck.

Two people in the car — Elma Witsaman, 88, and Mark Witsaman, 59, both of Portage — were killed along with one person in the pickup, Victoria Mitchell, 57, of Kalamazoo.

Two other people had to be removed from the truck by firefighters — William Mitchell, 56, and Brent Mitchell, 20, both of Kalamazoo. Matyas said they were hospitalized in "very critical" condition.

The Associated Press contributed to this report