Woman killed in Summerfield Township rear-end crash
A 25-year-old Lansing woman died and two other people were hospitalized after a rear-end crash early Sunday.
Michigan State Police Monroe Post troopers responded at about 2:37 a.m. Oct. 25 to Ida West Road near Summerfield Road in Monroe County's Summerfield Township.
The preliminary investigation found that a Ford Bronco driven by a 40-year-old Monroe man hit the rear of a Ford Escape. Both vehicles were heading west. A 27-year-old Tecumseh man was driving the Escape.
The Lansing woman, a passenger in the Escape, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Escape's driver and another passenger were taken to Toledo Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Two passengers in the Bronco were released at the scene.
Ida West Road was closed for several hours during the investigation. Troopers received help from the Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit, Summerfield Township Fire Department, Monroe Community Ambulance and Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Police suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information can contact Trooper John Singstock at 734-242-3500.
Who is at fault in a Michigan rear-end crash?
Under Michigan's rear-end collision statute, a driver who overtakes and hits another vehicle from behind on a Michigan highway is presumed negligent if the vehicle ahead was moving in the same direction or lawfully stopped. That presumption can be challenged with evidence showing an adequate excuse or justification for the collision.
The statute has a narrow nighttime exception for the owner of the vehicle hit from behind. The owner can't invoke the presumption when the crash occurs between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise and the vehicle has no lighted lamp or lantern reasonably visible to drivers approaching from behind.
As Michigan Legal Center explains in its discussion of how a police report affects a Michigan crash claim, an officer's report is one piece of evidence and doesn't decide civil fault by itself.
Get help from Michigan Legal Center
Michigan Legal Center: the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates handles car accident injury and wrongful death claims throughout Michigan.
If you were injured or lost a family member in a car crash, contact Michigan Legal Center to ask about your legal options.
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