Seat Belts

NILES, Mich. - Michigan State Police are investigating a serious two-car crash in Cass County. Authorities say a vehicle driven by 45-year-old Larry Pierce of Niles failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of a truck. It happened around 6:15 a.m. Friday on East Main Street near Reum Road in Milton Township. Pierce was rushed to Memorial Hospital in South Bend where he was in intensive care. Police say both drivers were not wearing their seat belts.

One person is dead after a crash on State Road 13 near County Road 24, just south of Middlebury. Police say 68-year-old Edna Mast of Goshen was killed when she stopped suddenly to avoid a bicyclist. A semi hit the car behind her, causing that car to leave the road, overturn and hit a fence. Mast's car was pushed off the road where it struck a rock and then a tree. The driver of the second car was taken to the hospital as a precaution.  The driver of the semi was not hurt.

A woman and two teenagers were extricated from a car after crashing on the U.S. 31 Bypass in Michigan. All three were taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. The accident happened just after 11 a.m. Tuesday in the southbound lane near mile marker 15 in Berrien Springs. A Berrien County Sheriff's Department news release stated Sally Hendricks, 80, of South Bend, was driving on U.S. 31 and apparently reached for a water bottle, causing her to lose control of her 2007 Buick.

A Bristol woman escaped serious injury when the vehicle she was riding in Saturday night struck a deer on U.S. 12 in Cass County. The Cass County Sheriff's Department reported Owen Stewart, 66, of Bristol, was driving west on U.S. 12, just west of M-40, when his vehicle struck a deer at 7:52 p.m. His passenger, Dolly Stewart, 60, was taken to Elkhart General Hospital by Porter Township Ambulance. According to a hospital nursing supervisor, she was treated for injuries and later released.

PORTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Cass County police have identified the two men killed in a one-car crash in rural Porter Township Tuesday night. Investigators say 19-year-old Gabriel Spencer-Forsyth of Tennessee was driving on Chapel Hill Street, just east of Baldwin Prairie Road when he lost control of his car, went off the road and hit a tree. Spencer-Forsyth was killed along with a passenger, 20-year-old Kevin Shupert of Elkhart. 19-year-old Ross Gambill of Osceola was also in the car and was taken to South Bend's Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

ELKHART - Two Elkhart County teenagers were hurt after a car they were in slammed into a tree. County police say 16-year-old Martin Olais of Elkhart was driving north on Keltner Road, north of Penwell Ave., just east of the Elkhart city limits when his Honda Civic went off the west side of the road for an unknown reason and hit a tree. It happened around 5:10 p.m. on Saturday. Olais was taken to Elkhart General Hospital after suffering a broken femur. Police say 16-year-old Marco Fernandez of Goshen was a passenger in the car and was helicoptered by MedFlight to South Bend's Memorial Hospital with abdomen and arm injuries.

A teenager from Saint Joseph died in a two-car accident near Dowagiac this morning, the Cass County Sheriff's Office reports in a news release. Johnathon Russell, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say Russell failed to stop at the stop sign on Peavine Street in LaGrange Township at 8:05 a.m. The car he was driving collided with a car driven by Brian Wood, 58 years old, of Marcellus, who was traveling southbound on Dailey Road. The vehicles slid into a ditch. Wood was transported to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

A 2003 Ford Ranger pickup slid off an icy road Wednesday night and plunged down a 10-foot embankment and into the Black River in Van Buren County’s Geneva Township. Michigan State Police report the 41-year-old male driver and a 26-year-old woman passenger escaped uninjured before the truck became submerged completely. The mishap occurred about 8 p.m. on County Road 388, just east of 70 th Street. Police said, via a news release, the man and woman opened a window, jumped into the river and made their way to the embankment.

A two-vehicle Cass County accident led to Medflight being called out. It happened around 5:30 at Dailey Road and M-60, that's southwest of Cassopolis. Click here for a map. Police told our crew at the scene the driver, Christina Guilfoyle, was heading east on M-60 when driver Amanda O'Conner disregarded the stop sign. They collided. Amanda was taken to South Bend Memorial. Christina was airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital. Alcohol was not a factor, say police.

An 18-year-old from Three Oaks was killed Tuesday evening after he lost control of his Jeep Wrangler on snow-covered Red Arrow Highway south of Bridgman. The teenager was driving south when he lost control and collided with a northbound Ford Explorer just before 6 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger in the Jeep, also an 18-year-old, was taken to Lakeland Memorial Hospital in St. Joseph with serious injuries, according to Michigan State Police. The driver of the Ford Explorer, a 49-year-old man from Bridgman, was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, police said.

ELKHART - Two Elkhart County teenagers were hurt after a car they were in slammed into a tree. County police say 16-year-old Martin Olais of Elkhart was driving north on Keltner Road, north of Penwell Ave., just east of the Elkhart city limits when his Honda Civic went off the west side of the road for an unknown reason and hit a tree. It happened around 5:10 p.m. on Saturday. Olais was taken to Elkhart General Hospital after suffering a broken femur. Police say 16-year-old Marco Fernandez of Goshen was a passenger in the car and was helicoptered by MedFlight to South Bend's Memorial Hospital with abdomen and arm injuries.

MISHAWAKA - New Year's Eve is considered one of the most dangerous nights of the year on the road, but nobody was arrested for drunk driving in all of St. Joseph County. Lieutenant Tim Williams is the commander of the county's DUI Taskforce and says between 6 p.m. December 31 and 6 a.m. January 1, police didn't arrest anyone for driving drunk. Williams says several drivers were ticketed for other offenses, such as Driving While Suspended, speeding, ignoring traffic lights, and failing to wear their seat belts.

PORTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Cass County police have identified the two men killed in a one-car crash in rural Porter Township Tuesday night. Investigators say 19-year-old Gabriel Spencer-Forsyth of Tennessee was driving on Chapel Hill Street, just east of Baldwin Prairie Road when he lost control of his car, went off the road and hit a tree. Spencer-Forsyth was killed along with a passenger, 20-year-old Kevin Shupert of Elkhart. 19-year-old Ross Gambill of Osceola was also in the car and was taken to South Bend's Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

A Shipshewana teen driving a 1992 Suzuki Sidekick lost control of the vehicle on S.R. 120 west of S.R. 13 Friday night. The vehicle went down an embankment and crashed into a utility pole, injuring the driver and four passengers. The driver,  18-year-old Kristine Garten, was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend for treatment of a broken knee cap and possible head injury. As of Saturday morning, she is listed in fair condition, according to a nursing supervisor. A backseat passenger, Brooke Stephenson, 16, of White Pigeon, also was airlifted to Memorial for treatment of a possible head injury.

A woman and two teenagers were extricated from a car after crashing on the U.S. 31 Bypass in Michigan. All three were taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. The accident happened just after 11 a.m. Tuesday in the southbound lane near mile marker 15 in Berrien Springs. A Berrien County Sheriff's Department news release stated Sally Hendricks, 80, of South Bend, was driving on U.S. 31 and apparently reached for a water bottle, causing her to lose control of her 2007 Buick.

NILES, Mich. - Michigan State Police are investigating a serious two-car crash in Cass County. Authorities say a vehicle driven by 45-year-old Larry Pierce of Niles failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of a truck. It happened around 6:15 a.m. Friday on East Main Street near Reum Road in Milton Township. Pierce was rushed to Memorial Hospital in South Bend where he was in intensive care. Police say both drivers were not wearing their seat belts.

The severity of a Dowagiac man's injuries after his motorcycle rear-ended a car in Pokagon Township late Thursday morning, caused him to be airlifted to Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. Donald St. Cin, 64, of Benton Harbor, was driving south on M-51, south of Edwards Street, just after 11 a.m. Police said St. Cin slowed to make a right turn into a private drive when his car was rear-ended by the motorcycle. The cyclist, 46-year-old Robert Schmeltz, was first taken to Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital and then airlifted.

One person is dead after a crash on State Road 13 near County Road 24, just south of Middlebury. Police say 68-year-old Edna Mast of Goshen was killed when she stopped suddenly to avoid a bicyclist. A semi hit the car behind her, causing that car to leave the road, overturn and hit a fence. Mast's car was pushed off the road where it struck a rock and then a tree. The driver of the second car was taken to the hospital as a precaution.  The driver of the semi was not hurt.

A two-vehicle Cass County accident led to Medflight being called out. It happened around 5:30 at Dailey Road and M-60, that's southwest of Cassopolis. Click here for a map. Police told our crew at the scene the driver, Christina Guilfoyle, was heading east on M-60 when driver Amanda O'Conner disregarded the stop sign. They collided. Amanda was taken to South Bend Memorial. Christina was airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital. Alcohol was not a factor, say police.

GOSHEN - The city of Goshen joins a list of communities that may allow golf carts on some of their streets. Right now, the idea is just in the discussion stage mostly centering on safety measures. One of those in favor of passing a law that allows golf carts on certain streets is Wally Vanhook. He's unable to walk because of a neurological disorder that left him paralyzed. He has to get around on wheels, sometimes a golf cart. “I haven't walked in 16 years,” said Vanhook.