GRAND HAVEN, MI (WHTC) – A couple from the Lake Charles area in Louisiana was involved in a motorcycle crash south of Grand Haven late this morning that led to the death of a woman and the injuring of her husband.
According to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Bob Ruster, 65-year-old Edward Johnston of Vinton was piloting his machine northward on US-31 and apparently was distracted enough to not notice traffic stopped for a red light at Comstock Street. His motorcycle slammed into the rear of a pickup truck, throwing off his wife, 55-year-old Elizabeth Johnston.
Neither rider was wearing a helmet; Mrs. Johnston was pronounced dead at the scene by the Ottawa County Medical Examiner’s Office, while Mr. Johnston was taken to Mercy Health Hackley Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The pickup driver, 34-year-old Reynaldo Suarez, and his passenger, 38-year-old Jaime Guzman, both from Fennville, were not hurt.
The crash shut down northbound US-31 for about two hours, and an investigation into the matter continues.
