Two Reasons The Michigan State Police Say ‘Slow Down’

Warning: The images below may be disturbing to more sensitive readers.

The Michigan State Police sends out pictures to us all the time. They're almost always related to something tragic or criminal. There were two fatal crashes over the past weekend.

The first of these tragedies occurred Saturday afternoon at approximately mile marker 55 at Martin on US 131. MSP says "preliminary investigations, including witness statements, reveal that the driver of a Chevy Tahoe was observed traveling at a high rate of speed south on US 131 and rear-ended a Mercury passenger car that was stopped on the roadway due to congestion caused by construction."

The driver of the Mercury was a 65-year old Indiana woman who "suffered life-threatening injuries. She was transported to Borgess Hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The driver of the Tahoe was identified as a 35-year-old man from Kalamazoo. Alcohol was not believed to have been a factor in this crash."

The second crash was on Sunday morning (September 12) around 7:00 am, again on southbound US 131, near Martin. The police got a call from a driver passing by who said he saw a car rolled over on the right shoulder of southbound US 131 near 118th Ave in Martin Township. State Police say "when troopers arrived on scene, they discovered a deceased male occupant in the driver’s seat of a 2012 Buick passenger car with his seat belt on. No other occupants were in or near the vehicle. Preliminary investigations reveal the vehicle was traveling south on US 131, veered off the right shoulder at a high rate of speed, before losing control and rolling over multiple times. Evidence at the scene indicate the crash likely occurred several hours prior to being discovered."

The decease driver was a 44-year-old Grand Rapids man. State Police say "alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash."

Both crashes were likely preventable.

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