HART, Mich. — FOX 17 spoke with Oceana County Sheriff Mast on Tuesday.
He said this weekend was a tough one for his department when a man died in a head-on collision on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The crash killed 20-year-old Braden VanPutten of Coopersville.
VanPutten was riding a four-wheeler when it collided head-on with a side-by-side. Both vehicles were in an area that the sheriff says isn't inherently dangerous by nature. The area is known as a scramble, where traffic is moving in all directions.
"When you step forth into one of these motorsport activities, you accept a certain amount of risk,” Oceana County Sheriff Mast said. “And in this incident, the risk outweighed any benefits by far."
Oceana County as a whole benefits from the tourism the sand dunes bring. Mast says the dunes are one of the only places in the country where people are able to ride in the way they do.
“That’s a huge draw in our county. It’s a big deal. It brings a lot of people into our area,” Mast said.
That's roughly 1.5 million people annually, Mast says.
“We’re hoping to see people come from far and wide come and enjoy the dunes and have a safe and enjoyable experience. It’s really a tragedy for everyone involved,” Mast said.
Mast called summer 2024 particularly difficult, considering the death ofKadie Price, a mother who pushed her child out of harm's way, earlier in the summer.
The sheriff says they regularly respond to injuries at the dunes, but have been fortunate to not have any deaths in recent years.
“Every weekend we have injury accidents. We get a lot of broken collarbones, broken ankle, broken wrist, lacerations. That’s every weekend,” Mast said.
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