An Oakland County sheriff’s commander is reporting that a pothole may have caused a deadly car accident in Michigan Tuesday. Pedro Montanez was driving his three children to elementary school in Lyon Township, Michigan, when he lost control of his vehicle. The Detroit Free Press originally reported the accident, noting that weather conditions were bad. Montanez,36, and his 9 year old son were both killed in the accident. Montanez’s other son, 10, and daughter, 6, were critically injured.
It was first reported that icy conditions played a role, but now it’s being speculated that Montanez may have swerved to avoid a large pothole.
Said Sgt. Mark Venus, commander of the sheriff’s office Lyon Township substation,
“The investigation is not done, but the pothole could be a contributing factor. When the investigation is done they will be able to tell if speed was a factor.”
Montanez reportedly crossed the center line, spun sideways, and was then struck by a Ford Super Duty truck. The man driving the truck attempted to avoid the collision, but was unable to do so. All passengers in Montanez’s car were wearing seatbelts, and the youngest child was properly in her booster seat. The truck driver wasn’t injured, and was also wearing a seat belt.
The pothole appears to be an ongoing issue:
The pothole has been a constant problem, because it’s in a low area where water gathers, said road commission spokesman Craig Bryson, who also said he hadn’t heard the pothole may have had a role in the fatal crash.
“We’re trying to patch roads as best we can with limited funds,” he said.
It doesn’t sound like it’s going to get any better, either. Bryson also
said,
“…the road conditions will continue to be in bad shape due to budget cuts.”
Michigan has notoriously bad roads. There’s even a website devoted to getting them fixed,
JustFixTheRoads, with businesses, associations and others signing on. To hear a pothole may have caused a deadly accident, killing a child, just reinforces the notion that our infrastructure needs to be repaired. We can’t afford not to.