OCEOLA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A car driven by a 22-year-old man zipped through a stop sign and smashed into another vehicle in southeastern Michigan, killing five people including a woman who was returning from a banquet as the state’s probation agent of the year, authorities said Wednesday.
“This should have never happened. People should be paying attention to their speed, to the traffic signals,” Michigan State Police Lt. Mario Gonzales said.
The crash happened late Tuesday in Livingston County’s Oceola Township, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
Investigators said a car driven by a young man from the Fenton area failed to stop at a sign and struck a vehicle traveling east on Michigan Highway 59. Gonzales described it as a “T-bone” crash in a rural area.
Two people were killed in one car and three in the other. Three more people were in critical condition, including the drivers.
The dead included Candice Dunn, 36, who was returning home from a state Corrections Department banquet where she was honored as parole/probation agent of the year, spokesman Chris Gautz said.
Dunn’s 70-year-old mother was also killed, he said. They were in the car that had the right of way.
“Everyone here is in disbelief and shock. She was beloved by everybody,” Gautz said of Dunn. “Yesterday was such a high and a celebration of the work she did.”
Speed limits approaching the intersection are 55 mph (88 kph), Sgt. Robert Mossing said.
