Schoolcraft Collision Leaves One Dead

One person is dead following a multi-vehicle collision along US-131 in downtown Schoolcraft, Michigan on Tuesday morning.

Details of the Fatal Crash

According to Michigan Live, the deadly accident occurred around 6:45 am Monday when a PT Cruiser rear-ended a vehicle at an intersection, initiating a chain of collisions.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas stated that two vehicles traveling southbound on US-131 were slowing to make a turn near West Lyons Street. The PT Cruiser collided with the second vehicles, forcing it into the first vehicle which then burst into flames.

The impact forced the flaming vehicle into a power pole just south of West Lyons Street – the occupant of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency workers were unable to extricate the body until power workers removed the power pole that had fallen over in the crash.

U.S. Car Crash Statistics

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 33,561 people lost their lives in traffic collisions in 2012. An additional 2,362,000 people were injured.
• On average, there were 92 traffic related fatalities a day in 2012, or roughly one death every 16 minutes.
• 21,667 of those killed were occupants of passenger vehicles, 25 percent of which were ejected from their vehicles.
• NHTSA also estimates that roughly 52 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2012 were not wearing a seatbelt.