STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan — A 22-year-old woman is dead and two 14-year-old girls are in critical condition after a crash in Sterling Heights on Wednesday.
It happened at 2:52 p.m. on Utica Rd. near Hayes Road. Sterling Heights Police report a gold 1999 Buick Century crossed the center line and hit a Chrysler Town & Country Mini-Van, head on.
The 22-year-old was driving the Buick with the two 14-year-old girls as passengers. A 59-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy were in the minivan, but they are in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.
According to investigators, the woman driving the Buick attempted to use the gravel shoulder to get past another vehicle where the road narrows, when she got back on the road, she lost control.
"The driver of the Buick attempted to pass improperly on the gravel shoulder, some distance as the Buick attempted to re-enter the roadway and ended up losing control and started a sideways slide toward the oncoming minivan,” said Capt. Aaron Burgess, with the Sterling Heights Police Department.
Burgess said aggressive driving and speed are likely to blame for the wreck.
The 22-year-old died from her injuries, the two 14-year-old girls, half sisters, were rushed to Children’s Hospital in Detroit. They are both in critical condition.
"They had to be extracted and cut from the vehicle, there was no response from any of the people in the Buick,” said Burgess.
The parents of the 14-year-olds found out they were involved in the crash when they were not able to get in touch with the girls and used the phone locater feature and it led them right to the crash.
"These poor parents had been trying to contact their child for over an hour and when they couldn't, they activated that feature and they were able to come right to our location,” said Burgess.
Burgess said he hopes other drivers use this as a reminder of just how devastating an accident can be.
"Your little bit of impatience or your aggressive driving can have serious consequences,” said Burgess.
