A 31-year-old Wyoming man is dead after his SUV collided with a semi-truck on Chicago Drive early Thursday morning, in a crash that police say happened as the truck pulled out of a business driveway. The SUV driver, the vehicle's only occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver stayed put and cooperated with investigators as they worked to piece together what happened.
According to mlive.com, the crash occurred around 6:45 a.m. near Jiffy Avenue, east of Byron Center Avenue. The man was driving his SUV eastbound on Chicago Drive when it struck a semi-truck that was pulling out of a business driveway and turning westbound, the outlet reported. MLive also identified the man as a Wyoming resident.
The SUV driver, who was the vehicle's only occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to arcwestmichigan.com. The semi-truck driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, the same outlet reported, as the investigation continued.
Speed Flagged as Possible Factor
Preliminary findings indicate excessive speed may have contributed to the crash, according to the Wyoming Police Department, per the same report. The investigation remains ongoing, and no further determination about the cause has been released.
Statewide data offers some context for how often speed plays a role in serious crashes. From 2019 through 2023, crashes involving at least one speeding driver made up an average of 8.9 percent of all crashes in Michigan but 19.3 percent of fatal crashes, according to the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts report. The same analysis found that 0.8 percent of speeding-involved crashes ended in a fatality, compared with 0.4 percent of crashes overall. The report defines a speeding-involved crash as one in which a driver was found to have speeding as their primary hazardous action, and it cautions that speeding is often underreported since driver behavior at the moment of a crash can be hard to pin down.
Police Seeking Tips
Anyone with information about Thursday's crash is asked to contact the Wyoming Police Department at (616) 530-7300 or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or 1-866-774-2345, per arcwestmichigan.com's report. No further details about the man's identity or the circumstances of the crash have been released as the investigation continues.
