BLOOMINGDALE, Mich. -- Dashcam video of a crash last month involving a Van Buren County Sheriff's deputy is shedding new light on the moments before and after the accident.
Back on the evening of March 28 around 7:20 p.m., the deputy had his sirens on as he was responding as a back-up officer to another incident when a vehicle appears to turn in front of him. A 17-year-old intern was also inside the patrol car.
The crash happened in the Village of Bloomingdale.
The other vehicle in the accident was driven by Sarah Jelsomeno, 37, of Bloomingdale, who had her two teenage sons with her. One of those teens was airlifted to Bronson.
The video, seen for the first time, has the moment the deputy's cruiser and the other vehicle collided.
In the dashcam video, the cruiser's sirens can be heard at full volume.
Then, as the deputy attempts to pass a vehicle on the left, that vehicle suddenly turns left. Investigators said that the driver was attempting to turn left into a driveway.
In an instant, the two vehicles collide.
The camera then flies off the dash, and a commotion ensues.
"Deep breaths, deep breaths," Deputy Oliver is heard saying to his intern.
FOX 17 also obtained a second dashcam video from another patrol car. This vantage point shows the crash scene as other officers and first responders arrived to help.
Shaken up from the crash, the intern can be heard: "What happened?" asks the teen.
"A car turned right in front of us," says Oliver.
Both Deputy Oliver and his teenage passenger were taken to the hospital. A teen inside the other vehicle was flown to Bronson, and the driver was taken by ambulance. One person was treated at the scene.
Van Buren County has asked the state attorney general's office to assign a special investigator to look into the accident.
Deputy Oliver is a seven-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and was featured on FOX 17’s West Michigan’s Most Wanted in early March as a community-nominated Hero of the Week.
