SPARTA TOWNSHIP -
Kent County Sheriff's Department deputies and the Michigan State Police have confirmed there was one fatality involved in a horrific crash on M-37 (Alpine Avenue) Saturday afternoon.
Shorty after 2:00 pm, a conversion van traveling southbound on M-37 was struck by a vehicle turning into the southbound lane from Sparta Avenue.
Wendy Bronkema is from Sparta and drove up to the accident scene before the police arrived. "It was just a shell of a van. A lot of people were trying to help but it didn't look good."
The van flipped several times before ending up in the northbound lane of the highway.
Investigators have confirmed the person who died was 63 year old Jane Carlson from Casnovia, Michigan. She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
The highway was closed for several hours Saturday afternoon.
An AeroMed helicopter was called in, but did not transport anyone. Carlson died at the scene.
There were three other people in the van: the driver, 40 year old Todd Carlson, and two passangers, 64 year old Carl Carlson and a 12 year old child. They were all transferred to Spectrum Health in critical condition. Carl has since moved up to 'fair'.
The driver of the other vehicle, a Ford Escape, was not injured in the accident.
It's not the first time police and fire have been called to the area. Dan Olney is with the Sparta Fire Department. "You figure the speeds on these roads are posted at 55 mph, but the average is probably 65-70 (mph) It's always going to be a high impact accident, anything out here on this stretch of road."
Dispatchers say fire departments from Alpine Township, Kent City and Sparta responded to the scene.
Shorty after 2:00 pm, a conversion van traveling southbound on M-37 was struck by a vehicle turning into the southbound lane from Sparta Avenue.
Wendy Bronkema is from Sparta and drove up to the accident scene before the police arrived. "It was just a shell of a van. A lot of people were trying to help but it didn't look good."
The van flipped several times before ending up in the northbound lane of the highway.
Investigators have confirmed the person who died was 63 year old Jane Carlson from Casnovia, Michigan. She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
The highway was closed for several hours Saturday afternoon.
An AeroMed helicopter was called in, but did not transport anyone. Carlson died at the scene.
There were three other people in the van: the driver, 40 year old Todd Carlson, and two passangers, 64 year old Carl Carlson and a 12 year old child. They were all transferred to Spectrum Health in critical condition. Carl has since moved up to 'fair'.
The driver of the other vehicle, a Ford Escape, was not injured in the accident.
It's not the first time police and fire have been called to the area. Dan Olney is with the Sparta Fire Department. "You figure the speeds on these roads are posted at 55 mph, but the average is probably 65-70 (mph) It's always going to be a high impact accident, anything out here on this stretch of road."
Dispatchers say fire departments from Alpine Township, Kent City and Sparta responded to the scene.
