7-year-old girl injured in crash when dad falls asleep at wheel

October 21, 2024

– Oceana County Sheriff’s Office photo

NEWFIELD TOWNSHIP — A 7-year-old Muskegon girl and her father, who is a 27-year-old Muskegon man, were injured when the van he was driving crashed into a tree Sunday, Oct. 20, shortly after 3 a.m. on 192nd Avenue near Pierce Road, according to an Oceana County Sheriff’s Office accident report.

Both the man and the girl were pinned inside the 2005 Chevrolet Express G3500 van after the crash, the report states, and both were transported by ambulance to Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital with serious injuries after they were freed from the wreckage.

The man was traveling north on South 192nd Avenue when he fell asleep at the wheel, losing control of the van, which “became airborne” before hitting a tree “at a high rate of speed,” the report states. 

“Driver and passenger were found in the front driver’s seat upon arrival with both front airbags deployed with significant interior intrusion,” the report’s narrative states. 

Blood was drawn from the man to test for alcohol and drugs, which are suspected to be contributing factors in the crash.

Where the girl was positioned inside the van at the time of the crash and her seatbelt use are unknown. The man was wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

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