Michigan State Police Trooper Involved In Serious Head-On Crash
A Michigan State Police Trooper and the driver of another vehicle are listed in critical condition following a head-on collision.
A Michigan State Police trooper and the driver of Jeep were seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on Friday night near Saranac in Ionia County. It happened just before 10:00 p.m. Friday. State police say Trooper Caleb Starr, of the Michigan State Police Lakeview Post, was heading west on Grand River Avenue in his cruiser when he was hit head-on by an eastbound vehicle driven by a 28-year-old woman from Utah.
Authorities say the investigation shows Starr was driving at a steady speed that was below the 55 mph speed limit. Before the crash, he reduced the speed of the patrol car significantly. The Trooper Starr had to be extracted from the cruiser after the crash. He was airlifted by AeroMed medical helicopter to Spectrum-Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids in critical condition, according to Michigan State Police. The other driver was taken to the hospital by ambulance in critical condition. As of Sunday, both Trooper Starr and the 28-year-old woman remain in critical condition at the hospital but are stable.
Investigators are still working to determine what led the driver of the Jeep to cross the centerline and collide with the patrol vehicle. The identity of the 28-year-old woman from Utah is being withheld at this time.
A Group called "Hold_The_Line" raising money for the injured trooper through a specially designed t-shirt with funds from sales going to help the trooper and his family during his recovery.