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Police suspect alcohol, speeding contributed to fatal Decatur crash

Posted at 4:10 PM, May 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-26 16:47:44-04

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office says it’s investigating whether alcohol and speeding contributed to a fatal head-on accident Friday night in Decatur.

It happened just before 9 o’clock on M-51 near 89th Avenue, in the Decatur area of Hamilton Township. Police say a 42-year-old Battle Creek woman may’ve been under the influence of alcohol when her Jeep Wrangler crossed the center line and collided with a southbound Chrysler Pacifica. That is the preliminary indication, police say, from the early crash investigation. They say the driver of the Jeep suffered multiple injuries, and was flown by a West Michigan Air Care helicopter to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. Sheriff’s Sergeant Tony Evans told FOX 17 late Saturday afternoon the 42-year-old Jeep driver was still in stable condition.

However, the 25-year-old Elkhart, Indiana woman who was driving the Chrysler Pacifica was killed, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. And her two-month-old son was in critical condition with multiple injuries. Police say he was restrained by a seatbelt in a car seat when the crash occurred. No names had been released at the time of this report.

Once its investigation is complete, the Sheriff’s Office says it’ll forward the findings to the Van Buren County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Besides Sheriff’s deputies, other agencies that responded to the crash scene were: Decatur Police Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Pride Care Ambulance Service, Decatur-Hamilton Fire Department and West Michigan Air Care.