Woman, 2 girls die in 3-vehicle wreck

GENEVA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A woman and two young girls died, and two other people were injured after being involved in a three-vehicle crash near South Haven Tuesday evening.

The wreck happened just after 7 p.m. near the intersection of Phoenix Road/County Road 388 and 62nd Street in Geneva Township.

Witnesses told Van Buren County sheriff's deputies at the scene that the driver of a Ford F-150 was traveling west, sped up and crossed the center line to pass an Oldsmobile Alero.

During the pass attempt the pickup truck collided head-on with an eastbound Pontiac Grand Prix, deputies at the scene told 24 Hour News 8. The pickup truck then struck the Alero.

Five ambulances and two medical helicopters were dispatched to the scene.

The driver of the Grand Prix was 24-year-old Brittney Renee King from Bangor. She was trapped in the vehicle and firefighters extricated her but she died from her injuries.

Four-year-old Cassadi Berryhill and her 2-year-old sister, Kandice Berryhill, both from South Haven, were in the back seat of the Grand Prix and also died at the scene. Police told 24 Hour News 8 that no child car seats were in the vehicle.

Justin Berryhill, 24, from Grand Junction was the front-seat passenger in the Grand Prix. He is father of the young girls and listed in stable condition at a hospital.

The driver of the Alero, 38-year-old Kathy Fuentes from South Haven, was not injured.

The driver of the pickup truck is a 32-year-old man from Alabama. He suffered several broken bones and lacerations, and is in stable condition at a hospital. His name has not been released pending a review of the incident by the Van Buren County prosecutor.

The pickup driver " admitted that he had consumed alcohol prior to the crash," according to a news release from the sheriff's department, and smelled of alcohol, deputies said.

Medical helicopters transported Justin Berryhill and the pickup driver to hospitals.

Police said "seat belt use is unknown."

The pickup driver has a prior conviction for operating under the influence of liquor and a prior conviction for operating while impaired by liquor, police said. He currently has a suspended driver's license and seven prior such convictions.

The Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team, South Haven Police Department, South Haven Area Emergency Services, Bangor Community Fire Department, Columbia Township Fire Department, Covert Fire Department Ambulance and PRIDE Care EMS assisted at the scene.