GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The teen accused of hitting and killing a tow truck driver has entered a new plea for the misdemeanor charge against him.
Payton Ferris pleaded no contest to a moving violation causing death. The 19-year-old was charged in the November 2023 death of Keagan Spencer.
Spencer, a tow truck driver from Hastings, had picked up a disabled vehicle and parked his truck in the emergency vehicles turnaround on M-6 just east of Broadmoor Avenue. The 25-year-old was in the median trying to grab a dog that was running loose on the highway.
That's when Ferris lost control of his car with it sliding into the median and hitting Spencer.
Fellow tow truck drivers honored Spencer with a final ride and his family called for increased protections through Michigan's "Slow Down, Move Over" law.
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However, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said Ferris could only be charged with a moving violation because of the circumstances of the tow truck not being on the shoulder of the highway.
The 19-year-old is scheduled to learn his sentence on December 16.
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