OTTAWA COUNTY (WHTC-AM/FM) — Sleepy driving may be the reason four people went to area hospitals after a single-vehicle crash in Tallmadge Township Sunday, according to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jay Douglas.
It happened just after 2 a.m. Jan. 6, 2018, in the 1800 block of Lake Michigan Drive when Kaheem Yancey of Grand Junction may have fallen asleep, Douglas said. Yancey’s 2004 Toyota Rav 4, which has been westbound, then crossed the center line and went into a ditch, taking out several small trees and hitting a telephone pole. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Douglas said.
Taken to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital were passengers Gavin Meyer, 17, of Grand Junction, last listed in good condition; and Saveon Lewis, 17, of Grand Rapids, last listed in serious-but-stable condition. Jared Blodgett, 17, of Grand Junction, was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, while Andrew Lopez, 18, of Pullman, went to Spectrum Health Butterworth with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.
While alcohol was not a factor in the crash, Douglas said, speed was. All but Lewis had been wearing seatbelts.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputies were assisted at the scene by Wright-Tallmadge firefighters and Life Ambulance EMTs.
