A 67-year-old Quincy woman died at the scene of a head-on crash on Jonesville Road near Ridge Road early Friday morning, and the Coldwater man she collided with was hurt but survived. Janet Murray's vehicle struck an eastbound vehicle driven by 51-year-old Travis Morrow just after 5 a.m., according to authorities.
Murray was pronounced dead at the scene, while Morrow suffered minor injuries and was taken to Insight Health, according to WTVB. The Branch County Sheriff's Office responded to the two-vehicle collision near Ridge Road and said the cause remains under active investigation. Coldwater Public Safety, LifeCare Ambulance, Branch County Central Dispatch, and the Quincy Fire Department all assisted at the scene, the station's report notes.
Hospital Received Crash Victim Formerly Known as Coldwater Regional
Morrow was brought to Insight Hospital and Medical Center Coldwater, the 87-bed facility that serves as Branch County's primary Level IV trauma center. The hospital was known as Coldwater Regional Hospital until Flint-based Insight Health System completed its acquisition from ProMedica in December 2024, according to Becker's Hospital Review. The same hospital received victims in an August fatal crash Hoodline previously reported after a 25-year-old man was struck crossing S. Clay Street in Coldwater.
The sheriff's office said it plans to release additional information as the investigation continues, per the same account from WTVB. Investigators have not yet said what caused one of the vehicles to cross into the opposing lane in the pre-dawn hours. A separate statute requires drivers to stay on the right half of the road except when overtaking or navigating an obstruction, according to Michigan Compiled Laws Section 257.634.
Crashes Near Jonesville Road
A fatal crash occurred on Jonesville Road in 2023. Thirty-year-old Portage resident Dominique Marie Mendham died on April 30, 2023, when her car left the roadway northeast of Coldwater and struck a tree, according to a report shared on Facebook. In July, a pickup truck rear-ended an Amish buggy at the intersection of North Fiske Road and Jonesville Road in Coldwater Township, injuring an 18-year-old passenger who was also taken to Insight Hospital, as reported by WTVB.
The corridor has also intersected with major highway incidents nearby. In October 2025, a wrong-way driver caused a head-on collision on Interstate 69 near US-12, according to WWMT. A Branch County Road Commission worker died after a semi-truck rear-ended the worker's mowing tractor on I-69.
The crash remains under investigation by the Branch County Sheriff's Office, and no further details on the circumstances have been released.
