School bus crash injures 3 students, both drivers
Five people, including three students, were injured Tuesday morning in a traffic crash involving a Dean Transportation school bus and a pickup in Gratiot County’s Arcada Township.
The crash occurred about 7:15 a.m. at the corner of West Tyler Road and Ely Highway just north of the Gratiot Community Airport.
According to a press release from Sheriff Mike Morris, the preliminary investigation indicates the pickup was westbound on Tyler Road when it failed to stop at the intersection and was struck by the school bus, which was traveling north on Ely Highway.
Three of the four students on board, as well as the driver, a 54-year-old Breckenridge woman, were transported to local hospitals by ambulance for treatment of minor injuries, Morris said.
The driver of the pickup, a 30-year-old St. Louis man, was airlifted by helicopter to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids with critical injuries.
It appears both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash and alcohol does not appear to be a factor, Morris said.
Deputies were assisted at the scene by a Michigan State Police accident reconstruction team, Alma Fire Department, Ithaca Fire and Rescue and MMR.