Jeep driver hurt in semi-truck wreck

MARTIN TOWNSHIP, MIch. (WOOD) - A woman suffered critical injuries when her vehicle crashed into the side of a semi-truck's trailer Monday morning in Allegan County.

Deputies were called around 5:50 a .m. to the wreck near 124th Avenue and Sixth Street in Martin Township, east of Shelbyville.

A semi-truck driver told authorities his trailer had become unhooked from his truck and gotten stuck, blocking the eastbound lanes of 124th Avenue, according to the Allegan County Sheriff's Office. Before he could set out flares or markers to warn other motorists, the driver said, an eastbound Jeep Cherokee crashed into the trailer.

The SUV sustained severe damage to its roof and the woman driving it was pinned inside the vehicle.

Rescue personnel extricated the SUV's driver, 45-year-old Julie Ann Harrington from Otsego. Aero Med transported her to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, where she is listed in critical condition.

Drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, police told 24 Hour News 8. Additionally, the road was paved and not icy, according to a news release.

Harrington was wearing her seat belt and her vehicle's air bags deployed properly.

The semi-truck driver, 57-year-old Michael Pavlak from Hopkins, was exiting the semi when the crash happened and not injured.

The crash Reconstruction Team's initial investigation indicated that while the semi-truck's fifth-wheel hitch appeared to be working properly, the trailer came loose and landed on its trailer stands. It did have lighted side markers and conspicuity tape. The semi-truck was facing westbound in the correct lane.

There was no ambient light in the area, according to the investigation, and the truck's headlights would have made it difficult for the Jeep driver to see the trailer in the eastbound lane.

The Martin Fire Department, Wayland EMS, Aero Med, and the Michigan State Police also responded to the scene.