UPDATE 2/21/25
MASON COUNTY - The Mason County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that a preliminary investigation by the MCSO Crash Team suggests the MCE High School student’s vehicle was traveling north on Main Street, stopped at the stop sign and then pulled into the path of an eastbound 2010 Dodge Ram pickup truck, officials said. The pickup struck the victim’s car in the driver side.
The driver of the pickup truck was a 33-year-old Custer man. He was not injured.
The victim had a passenger in the vehicle, an 18-year-old male student who was injured and treated at Corewell Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
At this time, neither speed nor alcohol appear to have played any role in the crash.
The student killed in the crash was identified as Samantha Jo Bateson, 16, from Custer. She previously had been reported as 17.
2/19/25
MASON COUNTY - On Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 11:56 a.m., emergency crews were called to a two-vehicle crash on US10 at Main Street (Custer Road) in Custer. The crash took place in front of the Mason County Eastern High School (MCE), officials said.
Among the first to arrive on scene was a firefighter with the Free Soil/Meade Fire Department and the Mason County Eastern School Resource Deputy — a deputy with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
The deputy immediately recognized one of the drivers as a student at MCE, officials said. The student was the driver of one of the vehicles, and was trapped in the car, officials said.
The deputy and firefighter attempted life-saving measures, but the driver was pronounced dead at Corewell Hospital in Ludington, officials said.
“As a father of young drivers, my heart breaks for the family of the young life lost. And, as the sheriff, I join our community in mourning for the MCE family,” said Sheriff Kim Cole.
“Until such time and the Mason County Eastern Schools feel it is appropriate, I will not be releasing the victim’s name.”
The victim was 17 years old, officials said.
Custer Township Fire & Jaws, Scottville Fire and LIFE EMS assisted MCSO deputies at the scene and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office Victim’s Services Unit assisted the family at Corewell Hospital.
The crash remains under investigation by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Re-Construction Team.