HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC) – It was a case of a different type of driving distraction that landed a 34-year-old Holland area man on a hospital bed and forced an artery on Holland’s North Side to close for a half hour during the Tuesday lunch commute.
Brandan Lozon was driving his car southbound on Butternut Drive around 12:30 PM when, near Woodland Drive south of Riley Street, he lost control of his vehicle, which veered to the right, snapping a utility pole, and landed on its side. Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant David VanderPloeg got an explanation from the motorist as to why this happened.
“He was using an e-cigarette when he inadvertently inhaled some of its juice, which caused him to start coughing,” VanderPloeg said. “In the process of the coughing attack, Lozon lost control of his vehicle.”
The driver was taken to Spectrum-Zeeland Community Hospital, where he is expected to recover from what was only described by VanderPloeg as “non-life threatening” injuries. Butternut Drive was blocked off entirely for a half hour and had restricted traffic for much of the ensuing afternoon as utility crews had to repair the pole and restore the downed power lines.
The crash remains under investigation.
