A tragic incident occurred in Allegan County when an SUV struck a hayride, leading to a woman facing charges after allegedly operating her vehicle while intoxicated. The incident took place last Saturday around 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of M-40 and 110th Avenue in Trowbridge Township. According to WWMT, the crash involved an SUV and a tractor pulling a hay wagon with nine passengers aboard.
Captain John Paul Damveld with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office described the scene following the collision. "The tractor itself had lights on it," Damveld told WWMT. "There were no lights on the hay trailer, but there was a large, slow-moving, reflective-orange triangle on the back of it." Although the trailer was meant to be visible, the collision resulted in the trailer turning on its side amongst debris spread across the road.
Following an investigation, it was discovered that the SUV's driver, a 44-year-old woman from Allegan, had a blood alcohol level of 0.12, according to Captain Damveld's statement to ClickOnDetroit. This level surpasses Michigan’s legal limit of 0.08. Initially, the suspect asserted that she was a passenger but later admitted to being the driver of the SUV.
There were five individuals taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including four from the hay wagon and one from the SUV, as reported by WWMT. The woman is facing a charge of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, and additional charges may follow. The sheriff's office has chosen not to release any names pending further investigation, and no minors were involved in the incident. The driver's arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, as per information detailed by Cpt. Damveld to WZZM 13.
