Teen Driver Charged In Crash That Hurt 11 Students

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — A 16-year-old Macomb Township is being charged with two felony counts of Reckless Driving Causing Serious Impairment of a Body Function in connection with a June 12 crash that injured a dozen people. Eleven L’anse Creuse High School North students were hurt in the accident, which occurred at 21 Mile Road and Creekside. The crash happened shortly after students had finished final exams.

“As parents, we must constantly remind our children of the dangers associated with distracted driving, while setting an example for them while we are driving ourselves,” Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a statement. “Tragically, too many lives are changed forever by distracted driving. In the mere seconds it takes to open or respond to a text, or to make or answer a phone call, you travel hundreds of feet of roadway while driving blindfolded.”

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The driver has been cooperative throughout the investigation and is due to appear in the Macomb County Juvenile Court in August, according to Macomb County Sheriff’s Deputy Renee Yax.

Three of the teens suffered critical injuries in the Macomb Township crash, which involved three vehicles. Five students, ages 15-17, were traveling westbound on 21 Mile Road in a Saturn Ion and stopped at Creekside to turn southbound. A purple Chevy Silverado carrying six students, ages 15-16, rear-ended the Ion, Yax said previously.

After being struck, the Ion was pushed into the eastbound lane of 21 Mile Road where it was struck again, this time by a white Chevy Silverado truck. That vehicle was driven by a 64-old man from Macomb Township.

Two of the back seat passengers in the Ion were ejected from the vehicle, according to the news release. It isn’t clear if they were ejected on the initial crash or after being hit by the Macomb Township man’s truck.

File photo