Driver cited after running stop sign and causing crash that hurt 7 people
A three-car crash that injured seven people was caused by a driver who ran a stop sign at the intersection, investigators reported Thursday.
Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Geoffrey Fox said a vehicle that was eastbound on Bemis Road approached the intersection with Whittaker Road. The vehicle did not stop at the stop sign at the intersection, which does not have traffic lights.
Fox said a vehicle southbound on Whittaker struck the vehicle and then went off the road into a ditch. A third car that was northbound on Whittaker then struck the eastbound vehicle on Bemis, he said.
Fox confirmed there were 10 people in the three vehicles and seven people were transported to the hospital.
Huron Valley Ambulance officials reported one child was in critical condition after the crash, which occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, but Fox said no one was in critical condition.
The driver of the vehicle on Bemis that ran the stop sign was cited, Fox said.
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
John Hritz
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 6:46 p.m.
A person smarter than me will be able to tell me how a pedestrian being struck in a marked cross-walk with flashing lights going off generates more than 100 comments many of which blame the decedent. A similar crash hurts 7 people in three cars generates 1/4 of the comments and blames (correctly) the inattentive driver. One could conclude that the lack of a pedestrian in the situation improves the reasoning process and suggests a remedy: If the action by a driver is stupid/reckless/careless/negligent independent of a pedestrian, round-about, road surface anomaly, weather event, space alien or other attempt at mitigation is present, it's stupid. That doesn't mean these things don't count at all, but they seem to give drivers a pass. If you find a road situation confusing, slow down. If you don't know whether you have the right of way, you probably don't. If you don't have eye contact with the other road user, don't assume they are yielding to you.
John
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 7:13 p.m.
Is this that "Common Sense" thing I hear so much about? Where did you get so much of it, as I am told it is quite ready supply, but see it nowhere.
ac10award
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 12:49 p.m.
I get more details from the comments than the original article: Says Annie: "That area was posted loose stones, I drive it every day." Wow, a possible contributing factor. Glad she's here to do your job. If you have no details, why bother reporting at all.
ac10award
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 3:57 p.m.
Kyle, below, got the intention of my comment. Stones or not, isn't the issue. Just that there was so little detail reported in the article that even people who are unaware of the accident have more to contribute than the author. That was the point, agree with it or not.
LaMusica
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 3:18 p.m.
Whoa, calm down ac10. Loose stones, paved road, dirt road, doesn't matter. They ran a stop sign. The police don't say they skidded on loose stones and were unable to stop. They were negligent.
Frank Lee
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 3:16 p.m.
I believe the loose stone is irrelevant. Yes, Whittaker road was chip sealed and there is sign "loose stone" posted. Not sure what that has to do with someone traveling on Bemis road and completely disregarding a stop sign (from what I gather). I can't imagine there was ever an attempt to stop if they contacted vehicles heading both north and south on Whittaker. When traveling east on Bemis, it transitions from pavement to dirt after crossing Whittaker road. So on top of all the signage to stop, you have a visual of the road surface changing. There is no need for a traffic light or roundabout at this intersection. There is a need to pay attention to the road and operate a vehicle accordingly.
Kyle Mattson
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 1:30 p.m.
Hi ac10- We do not do accident scene investigation, that is the job of police officials. That detail was never mentioned in any of the reports, and is a personal observation by a reader. This is one of the reasons why we have comments on the site, it gives readers the opportunity to converse about issues they may see of concern like loose gravel at this location which may not be the cause of the accident, but could be worth being addressed by the township.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 12:46 p.m.
I ask again. Was this a $65 ticket for running a stop sign? When are we going to start holding drivers accountable?
Annie Harless
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 11:36 a.m.
That area was posted loose stones, I drive it every day.
Rtaylor537
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 11:35 a.m.
I have been keeping track of the number of drivers running stop signs in my neighborhood (Carpenter School) and it is frightening for not just other vehicles but for pedestrians and bicyclists (mostly children). Reporting this information to the Pittsfield Township officials has had no effect.
squidlover
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 11:47 a.m.
I too live in the Carpenter neighborhood, and have attended the forums on improving pedestrian safety they hold every now and then (run by Pittsfield Township). One elderly man actually said "how many kids have actually died because of the traffic in this neighborhood?" and "Why should I care about kids getting to school safely?" Their belief is that a more extensive traffic control system would only cost them more money, when in fact there was a grant to pay for improvements! It was really horrifying to listen to.
Pizzicato
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 11:34 a.m.
Hmm; sounds to me as if the "problem" here might have been solved had we not put a silly stop sign where cars just wanted to keep going. If you get in the way of human nature, this is the consequence (or so I've been told). It's important that we let cars do what cars want to do, which is to go and not stop.
Ricebrnr
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 11:32 p.m.
Not going to pull his license? Maybe we should find out where he got the car from and sue them and the manufacturer into oblivion!
justcurious
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 12:34 a.m.
At least they interviewed him after the accident unlike another recent incident which killed a young girl.
Nicholas Urfe
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 11:21 p.m.
A vast percentage of drivers ignore crosswalks, roll through stop signs, exceed the speed limit, fail to yield, etc. It is dangerous, and they just don't care. How old was the driver? What was the driver cited with? Was it a wrist-slap stop sign violation?
mgoscottie
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 12:17 p.m.
Rolling through stop signs and speeding are both not dangerous, in fact if you think otherwise I have a bet for you.
Nicholas Urfe
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 1:51 a.m.
Open your eyes and look around at the frequency of traffic offenses downtown. Of course you'd need to get out of your car.
ThaKillaBee
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 11:29 p.m.
I like it -- "vast percentage." Makes it sound academic. Can you link to the studies you're citing?
Brad
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 11:26 p.m.
A "vast percentage", eh? And on top of it, "they just don't care"? Where do you come up with this stuff??
Ypsidoodle
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 10:42 p.m.
Traffic circles! A whole bunch of em!!!
Ed Kimball
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 1:09 p.m.
No, TTOB they don't. But when stupids collide at them, they do so at a much lower speed than they do at intersections without them.
obviouscomment
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 3:33 a.m.
Agreed TTOB...if anything, they bring it out more
TryingToBeObjective
Fri, Aug 23, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.
Traffic circles won't stop stupid.
dading dont delete me bro
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 10:11 p.m.
"... vehicle ton Bemis, he said." huh?!?
Kyle Feldscher
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 10:21 p.m.
Extra t there. Thanks.
AfterDark
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 10:01 p.m.
Having details for accidents like this is great. Did you ever follow up on the car going into the Palm Palace parking lot?
Kyle Feldscher
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 10:24 p.m.
AfterDark - We released the man's name and it appears he lost control of the vehicle. I believe police are still investigating. http://www.annarbor.com/news/police-release-name-of-man-who-died-in-crash-in-restaurant-parking-lot/
LaMusica
Thu, Aug 22, 2013 : 9:30 p.m.
Oy vey. Slow down and be more careful people! Take the 10 seconds to stop and look! Really hope everyone is OK, especially the child...