A passenger died early Saturday after a car left the roadway, struck a tree and was then hit by a second vehicle in Marengo Township. The crash happened at the intersection of B Drive North and 20 1/2 Mile Road, leaving one person dead and two drivers injured.
The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office said the first vehicle left the road and struck a tree before a second vehicle crashed into it a short time later, according to mlive.com. A passenger in the first vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene despite lifesaving efforts, the outlet reported. Investigators had not determined what caused the first vehicle to leave the roadway, and both crashes remained under investigation.
According to WWMT, one person died after the car crashed into the tree and was then hit by another vehicle, citing the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office as the source of those details. The station reported that the drivers of both vehicles were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover.
Conflicting Accounts of Injuries and Response Time
Other outlets offered a different picture of the drivers' conditions. The same mlive.com report said the driver of the first vehicle was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries that were not considered life-threatening, while the driver of the second vehicle suffered only minor injuries and was treated at the scene. WOOD TV similarly reported that the second driver was treated at the scene rather than hospitalized, even as it described one person dead and two people in the hospital overall.
Reports also diverge on exactly when deputies responded. WTVB reported that deputies from the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office responded around 3:45 a.m. to a personal injury crash near B Drive North and 20 1/2 Mile Road, describing the first vehicle leaving the roadway and striking a tree before a second vehicle struck it in a separate crash. Fox17 reported a different response time, saying deputies responded around 4:45 a.m. to the crash in the same location. Neither timeline has been officially reconciled.
Investigation Continues Into Cause
The Battle Creek Enquirer reported that the sheriff's office is investigating two crashes that resulted in a fatality early Saturday, treating the initial roadway departure and the subsequent collision as connected incidents. No cause for the first vehicle leaving the road has been released, and no citations, charges or toxicology findings have been disclosed as the investigation continues.
Authorities have not released the identities of those involved. The sheriff's office has not published additional details beyond the sequence of events and the condition of the two surviving drivers, leaving several aspects of the crash, including what caused the first vehicle to leave the roadway, unresolved for now.
