ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. — Michigan State Police say they'll likely be waiting three to six weeks for blood test results to charge a man involved in an Allegan County crash that injured three children.
Police say a pickup truck crashed into a minivan and drove off. The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. on March 8 at a stop sign near 142nd Avenue and Division Avenue South in Leighton Township.
Michigan State Police say the minivan was stopped at the stop sign, when a dark-colored GMC pickup truck apparently rear-ended them at a high rate of speed, then drove away.
Troopers tracked down the hit-and-run suspect and identified him as a 53-year-old Wayland man.
Police said they smelled alcohol and the man showed signs of intoxication, and after a field sobriety test, they detained him for more testing.
When results come in, police will forward their case for OWI causing serious injury charges to the prosecutor's office for review.
The van's driver, a 63-year-old Byron Center woman, suffered minor injuries from the crash.
Passengers inside the van at the time of the crash were four young children from the Wayland area. First responders rushed the children to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.
Police said three of the children received treatment and left the hospital, while one remains in serious, but stable condition Thursday night.
Crash investigators said everyone inside the van was wearing seatbelts.
A neighbor, Chris Knobloch, says he heard the collision, saw the wreckage outside, and then called 911.
"Of course you go right away, 'Oh, no, not a minivan,' because I have two minivans because I have kids," he says. "You go 'Oh, I hope there weren't kids.'"
Knobloch says multiple people got out of their cars to try and help.
"I'd lost track of the truck. And then I saw what I thought it was a different truck, going through the intersection and just sparking, looked like a Roman Candle underneath this truck. And I thought surely they recognize they picked up a bumper or something," he says.
As a parent, Knobloch says it's upsetting to hear of a hit-and-run caused by a drunk driver.
"This is why you pay attention. This is why you don't drive under the influence because you don't want to be on either side of that crash," he says.
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