KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Only one of the three young children in a car rear-ended by a semi-truck was taken to the hospital, and first responders say her injuries do not appear especially serious.
“I’m not really sure what saved these kids,” says Dutton Fire Chief Paul Sheely.
At about 6:00 p.m. Wednesday the driver of a semi-truck did not stop for slowing traffic on M-6 westbound in Gaines Township. The truck smashed into the rear of a small car with three children inside.
“Two of them appeared to have very minor injuries and the one that did go to the hospital was alert and conscious when we pulled her out of there," says Chief Sheely. "I was surprised, quite honestly, that they were in as good a condition as they were.”
Investigators are not certain why traffic was slowed on the freeway when the truck hit the car. The force of the impact sent both vehicles into the grass median.
“On the way, you know you are looking at potentially serious injuries,” says Sheely. “We don’t know the degree of the little girls’ injuries, but she was stable when she got to the hospital and that’s a real blessing considering the extent of the damage.”
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