Other Haiti travelers know road dangers

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Since the devastating earthquake shook Haiti three years ago, Kim Sorrelle has traveled there from West Michigan about once a month. She is familiar with the winding roads and knew one of the four medical missionaries killed in a traffic accident Friday.

Sorrelle, the executive director of Rays of Hope, knew Mary LaPonsie, who also traveled often to Haiti.

LaPonsie, Matt Kutsche and Jim and Rita Cwengros died in the crash that happened shortly after they arrived in the country as part of a medical team with Haiti Needs You. The brakes on their SUV failed and the vehicle crashed down a ravine.

"I don't want people to be afraid of Haiti," Sorrelle told 24 Hour News 8. "You have to be very careful around turns, around everything."

She knows the driver, who was the only one to survive the crash in Jacmel.

"It's great to have people with a lot of experience driving, with a knowledge of where to go, and how fast to drive, because there are not usually speed limits," she said. "The roads themselves dictate the speed, and this isn't a road that you would drive very fast on."

Pastor Eric Hausler of Redeemer Church in Ada Township was on a separate trip to Haiti last week, and in his 30 years of travel to the country he's aware of the dangers.

"My heart sunk (when I heard about the crash) because I was just there with a group of people heading down a mountain," he said. "The week before we saw an accident, a head-on collision where it looked like somebody's brakes had failed."

Both he and Sorrelle point to the lack of resources in Haiti and the lacking infrastructure even before the earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

Neither one of them, though, will change any future planned trips. They have a passion for Haiti and want to bring clean water and medical help for people who would otherwise never see a doctor.