Car hits trees in Croton; 2 die, 1 hurt

CROTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Two people died and another was critically injured when a speeding car lost control and hit a tree in Newaygo County's Croton Township.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., the Newaygo County Sheriff's Department said, a car driven by Deverin Simons was headed north on Elm Avenue when he lost control between 72nd and Croton Road. The car left the road and hit a number of trees.

Simons, 24, from Newaygo, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger in the front seat, Richie Aguilar, was pronounced dead at Spectrum Health. He was 27 and was from Fremont.

Michael Shortsle was in the back seat and needed to be removed by emergency personnel. The 24-year-old Fremont man is currently in critical condition at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

Authorities are still looking into the cause of the crash, but they believe the car was traveling at an "excessive speed."