An Imlay City man had to be freed from his vehicle following a collision last Thursday, according to the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff deputies were dispatched shortly before 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 11, to an injury traffic collision on Brown City Road, north of Kohler Road, in Lapeer County’s Goodland Township. Deputies determined that a 33-year-old Imlay City man, driving a 2022 Chevrolet Equinox, was headed south on Brown City Road when he approached another southbound vehicle.
The vehicle, a 1997 Stewart Steven military style vehicle hauling crops, was being driven by a 31-year-old Imlay City man, with a press release noting that the Stewart Steven had operational rear taillights and a reflective slow-moving vehicle sign that was appropriate to use.
According to police, the Equinox struck the back of the Stewart Steven. The SUV traveled beneath the military vehicle’s cargo bed before eventually separating. The Equinox ultimately left the right side of the roadway and struck a tree, while the Stewart Steven came to rest within the southbound lane. Goodland Township Fire Department responded to the scene to extricate the Equinox’s driver.
The driver, who had been using a seatbelt at the time of the accident, was the lone occupant of the SUV, with police reporting the vehicle’s airbag did deploy. Once extricated, the 33-year-old man was taken by Lapeer County EMS to McLaren Lapeer Hospital before a later transfer to Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak. As of a Friday press release, he remained hospitalized in critical condition.
The Stewart Steven’s driver was not injured.
In addition to EMS and fire crews, the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Lapeer County Reconstruction Team. The roadway was closed for investigation and wreckage cleanup until about 10 p.m. that Thursday night.
The crash remains under investigation, with it currently inconclusive if driver intoxication, excessive speeds or environmental conditions are contributing factors.
