1 hospitalized after head-on crash on Michigan Avenue
Pittsfield Township firefighters work on clearing a car destroyed in a head-on collision on Michigan Avenue Thursday.
Courtesy of Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety
A head-on accident in Pittsfield Township sent one person to the hospital and closed Michigan Avenue near Old State Road Thursday morning.
Pittsfield Township Deputy Police Chief Gordy Schick said a westbound vehicle drifted over the center line and collided with an eastbound vehicle. Both people injured in the crash suffered non-life threatening injuries, he said.
“We’re extremely fortunate this was not a fatality,” Schick said.
The crash was reported at 7:30 a.m., according to Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams. She said one person was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in unstable condition.
The identities of the people involved in the crash were unknown as of 9 a.m. Thursday.
Michigan Avenue was closed until just after 9 a.m. Thursday.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
OLDTIMER3
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 1:18 p.m.
God must have been riding in the car shown for anyone in it to survive!
brian
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 11:11 p.m.
That was once a car? Anyone know what type of car it is or was?
justcurious
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 5:55 p.m.
Unbelievable damage to that vehicle. It's a miracle they came out of it alive.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.
Bad accidents are becoming a regular thing lately. I wonder what is causing them (I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that), and I wonder what is being done if anything to stop these horrific crashes?
Tex Treeder
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.
Any word on the accident I passed this morning on Nixon, just north of Huron Parkway? It looked like 2 vehicles were involved, once of which struck a streetlight pole head-on.
Basic Bob
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:56 p.m.
This road should be widened, seriously. It is the worst performing road in the entire county, and all they did was widen it in front of Walmart. Between the trucks, the Saline commuters, vacationers in the Irish Hills, and the MIS race traffic, it is a constant headache. My daughter uses Bemis Road instead and some use the unstable gravel portion of Textile Road through the Preserve. While widening the road does not prevent someone from crossing the center line, there would be some leeway when someone drifts across the center line to avoid hitting them head on. This was on the long range priority list over a decade ago, and believe me the traffic is not going away.
Basic Bob
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.
@yourdad, I bet you just made that up. But since the 2008 "regime change", this should be a no-brainer. Instead they are moving the runway just so they can widen the road from Upper Saline to Costco.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:05 p.m.
That whole intersection area has ALWAYS been bad, and now with all the new development right around there (you forgot the SCHOOL traffic too because the "new" school is right there) it's only gotten worse. I wonder if a roundabout would be any good there? I would THINK not...but maybe there's something I'm not considering.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:44 p.m.
Kinda reminds me of my accident from 98. http://imgur.com/a/KJZEx You guys initially reported it as a fatality because of the vehicle damage....but as you can see....not dead. Not sure how I got out of that without any major injuries...and I don't even remember that day past getting dressed in the morning.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:11 p.m.
Also.....as correction...the accident was 1997, not 1998. It happened the end of May....possibly the 31st I want to say. I've got the newspaper clipping still but it's at my father's house in a box somewhere.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:09 p.m.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just switch to Disqus.....it's VERY widely used by the majority of news media sites and MANY others.
Kyle Mattson
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
We're hoping to have an upgraded comment system in the semi-near future Billy, no promises on the editing feature though. Thanks for sharing those photos from your accident. It is amazing that you were able to escape without any major injuries when the car sustained so much damage.
5travellers
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:56 p.m.
Wow, that looked like a pretty bad accident! Glad to hear that you had no major injuries and that you're alive and well! :-)
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:53 p.m.
You guys NEED to switch to a better comment system...like one that allows for editing comments. I wasn't trying to imply there was bad reporting when my accident was declared a fatality....I was trying to point out HOW BAD it looked and THAT is why it was reported as a fatality. Anyone who came across that scene thought it was a fatal accident. I mean you can look at the pictures yourself to see how bad it was. If I were to judge THIS accident on Michigan Ave. based off pictures I would say there was no question it was a fatality....that's how bad it looks.
Lonnie
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:42 p.m.
Please follow-up reporting with the investigation results of all of these many fatal car crashes recently. I need to know if phones are involved. I ride the city bus every day and from my seat in the bus, I observe nearly every car driver by our bus looking down at their phone. When I drive my own car, I see many cars stopped far before the solid white line on the pavement at the light, and when I look over at the car, the driver is working away on their phone. I wish this car phone obession/distraction would stop! These car crash deaths are so unnecessary, and it puts everyone at risk on the roads.
Believe
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 9:06 p.m.
I know one of the victims personally, and there were no phones that caused this accident. Both drivers will be fine. and I completely agree with you on these phones. I wish people would just realize the consequences of texting/talking on their phone while driving can cause.
FrankOZ
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:59 p.m.
I was behind a guy this morning that had his turn signal on for miles and miles. When I got us next to him, he was completely looking down at his phone texting. He had no idea what was going on around him.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:36 p.m.
""We're extremely fortunate this was not a fatality," Schick said." Oh man I WOULD SAY SO!!! After seeing that picture of....whatever that vehicle used to be....yeah...it IS a miracle no one was killed. That's a BAAAAAAD accident.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.
Ok good point...I didn't think about the jaws being used. Now it doesn't look AS bad....but the damage to the engine compartment alone still looks pretty heinous.
Thomas
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:49 p.m.
Bill, looks like the roof was removed with the jaws-of-life. If you take a look at the C pillar you can tell it was cut. Granted this accident was bad but the JOL always make it look like someone died.
seldon
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.
I'd read that the first couple weeks of DST result in an increase in accidents, but this is really making me wonder. This is a lot.
Ann English
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.
Good link, Kyle; you would think that by now, everyone would be getting all the sleep they got before losing an hour of it March 9-10. I still think that some drivers are caught off guard in the fall, and are surprised at the darkness as they drive during the evening of the first day back on Standard Time; I remember seeing this line of reasoning written in publications 30 years ago. But not the sleep deprivation factor at this time of year; not until today. It does make me wonder if most of the vehicles I've been seeing pulled over by police (yes, there has been a sudden increase since the time change) involved drowsy drivers, not speeders.
Kyle Mattson
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:55 p.m.
We have been equally surprised at the number of accidents seldon. Here is a link to one of the studies done on the connection between DST and increased accidents; however, it only applies to the days just after going into effect http://t.co/5Zkq7vOWdH Regardless of the cause, these tragic situations are unfortunate reminders to us all of the dangers of driving and how we all must make an effort to put the safety of ourselves and others at top priority when on the road.
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:45 p.m.
Correlation doesn't always mean causation......BUT sometimes it does. I'd not heard about this before....but it certainly seems like we've had a rash of bad accidents recently.
Donna Samuelson
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.
Stories like these are always such a stark reminder that we all could be in this position at any time we are driving. I drive that stretch of road at least twice a week. I've been in an accident near there before (thankfully minor) but you just never know what can happen. Praying for all involved.
Bertha Venation
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:24 p.m.
There seem to be an awful lot of head on crashes due to people "Drifting" across the center line.... I also cannot believe how many grown adults I see texting and driving. I'm not saying that is the case here, as I know nothing about it, bu the thought has crossed my mind with all the head-on's lately.
Believe
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 9:15 p.m.
It is very crazy how many people we see texting/talking while driving. I know one of the vitcims personally in this accident. and I Thank God that both of them are going to be alright. But even though this accident did not involve any sort of phone usage, I wish people could just see that phone usage while driving could end up just like this, or even worse.
Bertha Venation
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
Good for him, Kate! I've been rear-ended in the car probably about 4 times in 45 years of driivng. I hate it when people tailgate.... especially when I look in the mirror and they're texting, putting on make-up, reading the paper, etc. Distracted driving is just that... DISTRACTED driving which can wind up being deadly.
KateT
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 6 p.m.
My ex-husband was once tailgated for a long time, then coincidentally he and the other driver stopped at the Ypsilanti Wal-Mart. He noticed they had a pro-life bumper sticker. He mentioned that and yelled to them to "Drive like you are!!!". Food for thought.
Sam S Smith
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.
Special thoughts and prayers for complete healing and recovery to those in the accident, and for strength and healing for their families and friends!
OLDTIMER3
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 1:15 p.m.
We called 911 a couple of weeks ago on a driver going all over the road in a pickup truck. Crossed the center line several times and ran off the shoulder several time also. WE followed him for several miles right through Saline and never did I see a police car near him. Couldn't get his plate number as their were vehicles between us.
Believe
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 9:24 p.m.
I am family of one of the victims in this accident. And i am speaking for our whole family. Thank you so much Sam. We appreciate all of the special thoughts and prayers coming from everyone. I do not know the status of the other driver, but i do know both of them are going to be just fine. :)
almightydanish
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 2:22 p.m.
It looks like there's a car seat in the back of what's left of that car. Chilling.
RCDC
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 : 3:49 p.m.
@OLDTIMER3 It's a booster seat for older children not a tote bin..
OLDTIMER3
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 1:09 p.m.
I don't think that is a car seat. Look closly at the back seat the seat belts look intact yet and in place. Which they wouldn't be if attached to the what looks like a car seat. I think it is a plastic tote bin.
PlateSpinner
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 5:40 p.m.
The LATCH system was really working....it's still attached. Amazing that the people had only non-life threatening injuries. Sending hope for quick healing.
tdw
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 2:34 p.m.
Good catch....
linuxtuxguy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 2:11 p.m.
Why does the URL say that 2 were hospitalized, but the article says that only 1 was hospitalized?
Kyle Feldscher
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 2:23 p.m.
There's some disconnect between HVA and the police here. Schick told me two people were hospitalized, so that's what the story was going to say, but Williams told me just the one person was transported, so I changed the story proper. It seems that it's still pretty fluid at this point, but we only know for sure that one person was transported by HVA to the hospital.