Charges Filed In I-94 Pileup That Killed Northville Mother, Son
SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A man is facing charges in the deaths of a woman and her son in an icy, chain-reaction crash last month on I-94 in southwestern Michigan.
Police say 54-year-old Andrew Griesemer and his mother, 78-year-old Carol Griesemer, died following the pileup in Van Buren County. They were from the Detroit suburb of Northville.
Timothy Martinez, a 40-year-old from the Grand Rapids area, appeared in court Friday. The charges include reckless driving causing death. He's accused of failing to slow down in snowy, icy conditions on I-94.
Police said nine vehicles were initially involved in the Jan. 17 crash near Hartford in the eastbound lanes of I-94 before two semi-trucks collided, causing a pileup of more than 40 cars and trucks. Another crash involved 12 vehicles in the westbound lanes.
More than a dozen people were injured, including a Van Buren County deputy who was struck by a vehicle while outside his patrol car rendering first aid.
Police say drivers were going too fast in white-out conditions. Nearly two dozen tickets were issued to drivers.
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