LAKEVIEW, Mich — A fully loaded semi struck an 86-year-old driver who failed to yield at an intersection Thursday morning, the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office said.
Just before 11 a.m. in Cato Township, authorities said they got a call about a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of M-46 and Youngman Road.
Crash investigators believe Doris Nielsen, from Lakeview, was driving a Buick northbound on Youngman when she didn't yield to a westbound semi.
That semi driver, a 35-year-old man from Grant, struck the Buick's passenger side.
Authorities said the semi trailer was fully loaded with fertilizer.
Both vehicles came to rest on the northwest side of the intersection, and Nielsen died from her injuries at the scene.
The semi driver wasn't hurt.
Howard City-Edmore Road (M-46) was down to one lane for about five hours during the investigation.
The Montcalm County Emergency Medical Services, Montcalm County Central Dispatch, the Lakeview Police Department, the Michigan State Police, Lakeview Area Fire Department, and Montcalm County Road Commission also responded Thursday.
Nielsen, who lived off M-91 in Lakeview, was known affectionately to the community as "the bear lady." She would dress up her bear statue in her front yard for every season.
The bear was so iconic that residents said it was stolen a few years ago, but the community returned it to Nielsen's yard.
Even though she didn't know her directly, Lakeview resident Anita Maneke said she, her kids and the community grew up with memories of driving past Nielsen's front lawn.
"Going down 91 it was like, 'Oh yeah, we're going to Greenville, we get to see what the bear's wearing today,'" she said.
She said the bear has been along M-91 for as long as she's lived there and she can't imagine driving by without seeing it.
"That would be a great loss," Maneke said. "I don't know what else to call it, but a great loss, because, I mean, my kids grew up looking at that bear, you know."
Community members said that M-46 is known for crashes and with M-91 being under construction, they feel that crashes are becoming more common.
13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to Nielsen's family for comment but has not heard back.
