Smashed vehicles and shattered auto parts littered M-24 on Tuesday, Aug. 14 following a severe crash in front of the Sunoco gas station near Lincoln St. in Oxford Village.
A Saturn (shown above, right) was headed north on M-24 in the left-lane when it swerved to avoid colliding with a Chrysler PT Cruiser that was stopped in the road as part of the usual afternoon backup.
?(The driver) said he looked up, traffic was stopped and he couldn’t stop in time,? said village Police Officer Clint Ascroft. ‘He slammed on the brakes, then he swerved to avoid the rear-end collision.?
The Saturn, driven by an Ortonville man, clipped the PT Cruiser as it veered into M-24’s southbound lanes where it caused a head-on collision with an oncoming Chrysler minivan (shown above, left) driven by an Oxford man.
The tremendous force of the crash was enough to flip the Saturn and leave it laying on its side.
‘He had to be doing about 40-45 miles per hour,? Ascroft said.
Both drivers were transported to the hospital. The Ortonville driver will be cited for ‘careless driving,? Ascroft said.