GEORGETOWN TWP., MI (WHTC) – A power outage plunged much of Jenison into the dark for about an hour last night, and while it was an inconvenience for most, it led to an evening on a hospital bed for a 17-year-old Wyoming man.
According to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Eric Westveer, the traffic signals over the intersection of Baldwin Street at 20th Avenue were out just before 8 PM when Michael Van Vels stopped his southbound vehicle. “Michael then proceeded south into the intersection and was struck by Bonny Matthysse, who was traveling east on Baldwin,” the officer said. “Michael’s vehicle was then pushed into the third vehicle, operated by Karyn Whitten, who was stopped southbound on 20th Avenue at the intersection for Baldwin.”
Van Vels was taken to Spectrum-Butterworth Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, while the 59-year-old Matthysse, also of Wyoming, and the 45-year-old Whitten of Hudsonville were not hurt. The electricity returned to the area about a half hour after deputies arrived at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.
