A 41-year-old Pontiac man, the passenger in a 2015 Ford Super Duty Truck, was critically injured Friday after the woodchipper the truck was towing was struck by a 2020 Jeep Cherokee on eastbound I-96.
According to a release from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, the 28-year-old Wixom man in the 2020 Jeep Cherokee was heading east on I-96 east of Grand River Avenue in Brighton Township at a high rate of speed at about 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4. The Jeep hydroplaned, and the driver lost control of it before it struck a woodchipper being towed by the 2015 Ford Super Duty Truck. The impact caused the truck — driven by a 31 year-old Stockbridge man with the 41-year-old Pontiac man as his passenger — to jackknife and lose control.
The impact of the crash caused the Ford to rotate and eject the passenger.
Both drivers were uninjured in the crash, but the Ford’s passenger was transported to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor in critical condition by Livingston County EMS. He was the only person involved in the crash who was not wearing a seat belt.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, speed appears to have been a contributing factor in the crash.
The roadway remained closed for four hours for the investigation and clean up.
Deputies were assisted at the scene by personnel from the Brighton Police Department, Brighton Area Fire Department, Michigan State Police, MSP Motor Carrier, and Livingston County EMS.
This incident remains under investigation by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Bureau.
