IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — An Ionia County woman is facing serious charges in a crash that killed two bicyclists and critically injured three others.
Mandy Marie Benn, 42, is facing:
- two counts of Operating while Intoxicated Causing Death (15-year felony)
- one count of Operating while Intoxicated/Operating a Vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance (93-day misdemeanor)
- Second Offense Notice - Operating while Intoxicated (one-year misdemeanor)
The Ionia County Sheriff's Office says the incident happened around 11:15 a.m. Saturday, July 30 on Stage Road in Ronald Township. Multiple emergency crews responded to the scene, including Michigan State Police and Aero Med.
Craig Gietzen works at Rockford Bike Shop and has been an avid cyclist since he was a kid.
"All of the different styles of bikes. Mountain bikes, road bikes, etc," he says.
He heard of the tragic, deadly crash on the news Saturday.
During her arraignment Monday, Kyle Butler, a prosecuting attorney in Ionia County, alleges Benn struck five male cyclists after her SUV crossed the center line while attempting to pass a UPS truck.
All of the cyclists were part of the Make-A-Wish Bicycle Tour, a three-day endurance ride that covered most of the state of Michigan.
The two victims were identified as Edward Erickson, 48, of Ann Arbor, and Michael Salhaney, 57, of Bloomfield Hills.
Two of the other victims have been treated and released from the hospital. One victim remains in the hospital in serious, but stable condition and is expected to recover.
"It's just sad to see a fellow cyclist, a group of cyclists get hit like that," said Gietzen.
Butler claims Benn had slow and slurred speech, lack of balance and couldn't follow instructions.
She may have not understood the gravity of the situation because she allegedly said, 'that almost looks real,' referring to the crime scene.
However, she had no alcohol in her system.
Butler says she was prescribed Aderall and Suboxone, and had prescription bottles for Benzodiazepine in her car.
Benn was also charged with Operating while Visibly Impaired back in 2017 in the same county. During the incident, Butler says deputies made similar observations about her demeanor.
Gietzen says impaired drivers are hard to predict, and he's urging drivers to be patient and cautious on the road.
"You don't need to squeeze in between a car and a bicyclist to get where you're going," says Gietzen, "It takes 10 seconds to slow down and let everyone get home safe, you know?"
The judge entered a Not Guilty plea for Benn.
She's being held on a $1,000,000 cash/surety bond at the Ionia County Jail.
She's expected to appear back in court next week.
The League of Michigan Bicyclists (LMB) released the following statement Monday:
“The bicycling community is heartbroken for the families of the two men who were killed on Saturday and we send our best wishes for the long road to recovery to those who were injured.
This tragic crash should never have happened. It was no accident. We mourn these deaths, and we cannot accept this loss of life as inevitable. We must act.
Last year, 29 bicyclists were killed on Michigan roads – a decrease from 38 in 2020, but substantially more than the 21 killed each year in 2019, 2018 and 2017. Overall Michigan traffic deaths reached a 16-year high in 2021, with 1,131 lives lost. This is an absurd price to pay for our transportation system, and we need fundamental change to reverse this trend.”
“People want to believe that bicyclists can protect themselves by wearing the right protective equipment, using the right lights, or riding in the correct way," said Matt Penniman, Communications and Advocacy Director, League of Michigan Bicyclists. "None of those were sufficient to protect these riders, and blaming victims is never appropriate. We can’t prevent every impaired or distracted driver from getting behind the wheel, either. We must demand action to put safety over speed.
- Our car manufacturers must add technology to new vehicles to detect bicyclists and engage in automatic emergency braking, and incorporate driver alcohol detection systems.
- Our road commissions and transportation departments must deliver safe multi-modal road designs and end unsafe practices that are dangerous by design.
- Our legislators must act to protect vulnerable roadway users like bicyclists, by taking up bipartisan bills like SB 580 and 581 and HB 5181 and 5182, which were introduced in June 2021, referred to the Senate and House transportation committees, and left for over a year. This follows over a decade of attempts by LMB and others to promote similar bills, only to be met with legislative inaction.
LMB will continue to fight for the safety of Michigan bicyclists, to improve life through bicycling and to demand safe roads for people, not just cars.”
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