GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids man has been charged with felonies in connection to a chain-reaction crash that killed two people last summer.

Antoine Azard, 66, is charged with two counts of reckless driving causing death, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The charges stem from a June 6, 2022, crash on southbound US-131 near 68th Street in Byron Township.

An Aug. 4, 2023, booking photo of Antoine Azard from the Kent County jail.
An Aug. 4, 2023, booking photo of Antoine Azard from the Kent County jail.

Court documents say Azard was driving well below the speed limit. Some witnesses told Michigan State Police his SUV was “stopped and backing to the rear” when it was hit from behind by another SUV. The second SUV was then hit by a third SUV.

The drivers of the other two vehicles, identified in court documents as Dorothy Bouwer and Teresa Shear, were killed.

Azard was arrested Aug. 4 of this year and released on bond. In court Wednesday, he waived a preliminary hearing, sending his case on to circuit court.