Maple City Man Killed In High-Speed Crash; Driver Faces Charges

A 20-year-old Maple City man was killed and two other passengers were injured in a single-vehicle accident Friday that also injured the driver, who now faces charges.

A Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office deputy clocked a vehicle going more than twice the speed limit at 11:40pm Friday on US-31 South near Sundowner Drive in Garfield Township. The deputy's radar captured the vehicle going 123mph in a 55mph zone. The deputy initiated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

The vehicle began to evade the deputy, fleeing down McRae Hill Road, Silver Pines Road, and East Silver Lake Road. The driver turned off his vehicle's running lights during the chase. The deputy, who still had his lights and siren on, attempted to follow the vehicle on East Silver Lake Road but lost sight of the car near Rennie School Road.

Soon after, the deputy found the vehicle crashed on East Silver Lake Road south of Rennie School Road in Blair Township. Northflight, Metro Fire, and Blair Township Fire and EMS responded to the scene. The Michigan State Police also responded to investigate the crash.

The vehicle contained four occupants, including the driver and three passengers. A 20-year-old Maple City man, a passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Two other passengers, a 20-year-old Kingsley woman and a 16-year-old male teen from Traverse City, were taken to Munson Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The driver, a 20-year-old Maple City man, was also taken to Munson with non-life threatening injuries.

Prior to being transported, the driver provided a PBT sample that showed he had a bodily alcohol content of .099 (the legal driving limit is .08). The driver was later arrested and faces charges of fleeing and eluding causing death and operating a vehicle while impaired causing death. The case is still under investigation.