COLON TOWNSHIIP, MI (WTVB) – Relatives have told WWMT-TV that the woman killed Sunday afternoon when she was struck by a fleeing vehicle while she mowing grass in St. Joseph County’s Colon Township was 53-year-old Jody Clipfell.
They also say the 38-year-old suspect driver who was killed when his car rolled over and struck a tree was related to her by marriage.
The tragedy was part of a series of events that started on Wattles Road near Ambs Road in Branch County.
Michigan State Police are continuing to investigate a felonious assault that took place before the accident. As one man was dropping off some property, a resident fired several shotgun rounds in the front yard. There was no contact between the two men prior to the weapon being fired.
The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department says the driver that struck Clipfell was traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control and ran off the road in the 33000 block of Wattles Road.
Clipfell and the driver of the vehicle were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The name of the fatal male victim has not been officially released by law enforcement authorities.
