KENT CO., Mich. — A 2-year-old died in a two-vehicle crash in Nelson Township, near Cedar Springs Tuesday.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department said the accident happened at about 10:16 a.m. near the intersection of Myers Lake Avenue and 17 Mile Road. The undersheriff said Oscar Zuniga, 2, died at the scene.
Alex Salgado, 3, was in the same vehicle and suffered a head injury. Gretta Salgado, 1, has minor injuries. The undersheriff said all three children were in car seats.
Paula Zuniga, 33, drove the vehicle the children were in, and sustained minor injuries.
The sheriff’s department said John Heeringa II, 65, ran a stop sign on Myers Lake Avenue in his Ford F-150 and hit Zuniga and her children. That led to Oscar being ejected from his mother’s SUV.
Kelly Gardner lives nearby, and says that the intersection is dangerous.
“I would guess that five people have died in the 10, 11 years we’ve been here,” Gardner explained. “Speaking for my neighbors and myself, we really would prefer to see either a flashing light up, or it made into a four-way stop,” she said.
Heeringa’s driving record from the Secretary of State shows that he was pulled over for speeding in August 2007.
The case remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
