HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – If any more evidence is needed as to why one of Ottawa County’s more dangerous intersections is being converted into a “Michigan left” junction, it came during the tail end of the Wednesday morning commute.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Matt Wildfong was among the first responders dispatched to the area of Business 196 and 112th Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. April 29, 2020, on a report of a multi-vehicle crash. The initial call was that a motorist had been pinned in her vehicle, but Wildfong said it, “proved to not be the case.”
What happened instead: a gray minivan, driven by 84-year-old Geraldine Schreur of Holland, was southbound on 112th Avenue. She failed to stop for a red traffic signal, Wildfong said, colliding with an eastbound parcel-carrying truck, causing both vehicles to veer into a van and a pickup, respectively, which were looking to move northbound but had stopped for the light.
Schreur was taken to Holland Hospital, while the parcel-carrying truck driver, 28-year-old Michael Thompson of Lowell, was treated for a minor injury at the scene. The other two motorists involved were not hurt.
Work on converting the intersection to a Michigan Turn junction, which resumed a couple of weeks ago after a winter break, is ongoing, with a scheduled conclusion for early next month. According to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department Incident Response webpage, 87 crashed were reported in or near that intersection over the past year.
