1 killed in Newaygo Co. 2-Jet Ski crash

CROTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - One person died in a crash involving two Jet Ski-type personal watercraft in Newaygo County on Sunday morning.

It happened around 11 a.m. on Croton Pond near Front Street and Croton Hardy Drive in Croton Township.

Two personal watercraft were traveling alongside each other and carrying four people, according to Michigan State Police.

The operator of one of the watercrafts didn't notice the other watercraft had stalled and collided with it. O ne of operators was thrown into the water during the collision.

A witness told 24 Hour News 8 the crash was very loud. She said as soon as she saw it, she called 911.

Other boaters came to help, pulled the victim into a kayak and took him to an access point near Front Street.

The witness said she heard someone from one of the personal watercraft involved shouting from the water, "Keep his head up. Is he breathing?"

Aero Med was called to take the male victim -- 41-year-old Steven Grace of Shepherd, Mich. -- to a Grand Rapids hospital, but he died before he was loaded onto the helicopter.

Everyone on the watercraft was wearing life jackets. Alcohol and drugs were not a factor, state police said.