EAST LEROY, MI (WTVB) – Two people were killed early Friday morning after three vehicles crashed into a tree that fell across both lanes of M-66 south of Battle Creek.
Troopers from the Michigan State Police Post at Marshall were dispatched to a single vehicle personal injury accident at about 3:45 a.m. The driver of the vehicle had struck the fallen tree and had suffered minor injuries.
While in route, dispatchers got another call that reported two more vehicles had struck the tree.
The top of the second vehicle was sheared off upon contact with the tree, killing the two occupants inside. The victims have been identified as the driver, 48-year-old Kathie Marie Thomason and her 60-year-old passenger Howard Ray Bergman. State Police say both of the victims were from East Leroy.
The driver of the third vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The accident is still under investigation.
Troopers were assisted on the scene by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, Battle Creek Police, Leroy Twp Fire, LifeCare EMS, M-DOT, and the Calhoun County Road Commission.