UPDATE 11/21/24 6:30 p.m.
LUDINGTON — A good deed turned to tragedy when a woman was hit and killed trying to help another driver.
The accident happened Wednesday night around 8:20 in the median of US 31 near the Ludington rest area in Mason County’s Summit Township.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole said everything changed quickly last night.
“The initial call was nobody was hurt. Within just a matter of a few moments, what was a simple slide off in the median turned to be a horrible, horrible, tragic event,” said Cole.
Cole said Latoya Smith of Pentwater and another woman had stopped on the shoulder of the freeway to check on a Pontiac with two young women who had spun out into the median, and that’s when tragedy struck.
“A third vehicle came along, which was a pickup truck. And that gentleman lost control, went into the median and struck the two pedestrians, the two good Samaritans and the vehicle that had initially crashed,” said Cole.
Cole said everyone was taken to Corewell Hospital with various injuries. Smith was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“The young lady that was killed died a hero. She died doing what she felt was right, trying to save another person. And even though the injuries were minor, she did know that when she got out of the car to help,” said Cole.
Cole said if you find yourself in a situation where you want to help someone stranded, have situational awareness of what’s going on around you.
“If the roads are bad and the weather’s bad and the visibility is bad, people have to weigh that into their decision,” said Cole.
The sheriff said no one has been given a ticket yet. They are looking if weather conditions played a part.
“It was a rain snow mix. There were some patchy, icy spots out there as well. The weather was challenging with the rain and it’s hard to see in the dark anyway,” said Cole.
The sheriff said regardless of what they find from reconstruction, it’s a tragedy, just the same.
“It’s horrible when someone loses a loved one in any circumstance. But when it’s a car crash and it’s a person that was just stopping to make our world a better place, and it’s during the holidays, it just really compounds heartache,” said Cole.
The sheriff said the other names of the people involved in the crash will be released later. That crash remains under investigation.
UPDATE 11/21/24 12:00 p.m.
LUDINGTON — Latoya Marie Smith, 35, of Pentwater has been identified as the good Samaritan who was hit and killed on US-31 in Summit Township on Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office said.
Other names and details related to the crash are being withheld at this time.
11/21/24 10 a.m.
LUDINGTON — At 8:21 p.m. Wednesday, emergency crews were called to a traffic crash in the median of the US-31 freeway near the Ludington Rest Area in Mason County’s Summit Township.
Upon arrival, Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies located two heavily damaged vehicles in the median and a third vehicle parked on the west shoulder of southbound US-31. Two injured pedestrians were found in the median from being struck while outside the vehicles, deputies said.
One of those pedestrians, a 35-year-old Pentwater woman, was later pronounced dead at Corewell Hospital in Ludington.
Preliminary findings by crash re-constructionists with the MCSO indicate a silver Pontiac G6 was southbound on US-31 and lost control, spinning out and ending up in the median, deputies said. A second vehicle approached the scene, pulled to the southbound shoulder of the freeway and two occupants of that vehicle exited to check on those in the Pontiac, deputies said. A third vehicle, a 2021 GMC pickup driven by a 37-year-old Shelby man, approached the scene also traveling south on US-31, deputies said.
The pickup truck driver also lost control and entered the median, striking the two good Samaritans and then the Pontiac, deputies said.
The roadway was reported to have been wet with scattered slippery patches, officials said.
The two occupants of the Pontiac, the second pedestrian and the pickup truck driver were all injured and taken to Corewell Hospital for injuries.
The case remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office.
The Michigan State Police, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, PM Fire and Ludington Jaws all assisted at the scene.