MEARS, Mich. — The Oceana County Sheriff is warning visitors to be careful at Silver Lake Sand Dunes after a crash between a dirt bike and Jeep sent a man flying into the air.
The 21-year-old dirt bike rider caught this video while riding the dunes on Saturday, Aug. 10. The Oceana County Sheriff's Office shared the video with 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
Despite serious injuries, Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast said the dirt bike rider is expected to recover.
Sheriff Mast said, "He looks about like a rag doll being tossed."
He added, "This is just a fine example of how fast things change up on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes scramble area."
Sheriff Mast said the dirt bike rider has spent a lot of time on the dunes.
This is a look at the crash from a drone following the Jeep. The driver, Gavin Plume, shared it with 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
This was Plume's first time to the popular tourist attraction.
"There was no time to react, it was, I was going up it, and by the time I noticed it, noticed him, he was right in my windshield," said Plume.
He said Monday he was heading to find the bathroom.
"It just really shocked me that, you know, he's still in a bad state, but that's all that happened to him, seeing how far he went and how hard he landed."
While his Jeep is totaled, Plume only walked away with some bruising.
"I'm just happy to be alive, honestly and be here today," he said.
Sheriff Mast said, unfortunately, situations like this one on the dunes are nothing new.
"Every week, my deputies respond to multiple crashes from on the dunes."
He emphasized while it's part of the appeal for millions of people who visit across the country, people of all experience levels need to know the area is a bit of a free-for-all.
Sheriff Mast said, "Currently there are no speed limits up there. There are no capacity limits up there," and, "There's some non-directional, what's called a regular scramble area, where vehicles are going every which direction."
The sheriff advises visitors to keep their heads on a swivel and slow down.
"Speed is a number one contributing factor to a lot of crashes that happen up on the dunes. If they were to slow down, a lot of those crashes would be minimized or wouldn't happen at all."
Sheriff Mast salutes the work the Department of Natural Resources does to manage the state park. He said he and the department often talk about how to improve the safety at the attraction.