Michigan State Police has learned that four other people were killed in a fatal accident Tuesday afternoon in Cottrellville Township.
According to a press release, an investigation suggested that a 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling west on Broadbridge Road and could not prevent at the intersection of Broadbridge and Starville Roads.
The vehicle collided with a Ford Expedition 2020, sending it a few feet from the road to the forest in the southwest corner.
The Tahoe came to rest approximately 30 feet off the roadway and was on fire upon the arrival of first responders.
Tahoe passengers were known as Micheal Willis, 37, of Lapeer, and Nicholas DeMara, 34, of New Baltimore. The occupiers of the expedition were known as Michael Chipman, 40, and Keri Chipman, 37, a married couple from the borough of Cottrellville.
The Michigan State Police will continue to investigate the turn of fate to determine whether alcohol was a factor, according to the statement.
A GoFundMe arranged to raise the budget for the Chipman family, adding to their 3 children, according to the description on the fundraising site. By Saturday morning, more than $51,000 had been raised.
Nine-year-old Michael McNabb of Lexington will offer a lemonade stand during Labor Day weekend to raise cash for the Chipman family. Keri Chipman was a remote relative of Michael and her family, so when they heard about her and her husband’s death, they helped her, said Ashley McNabb, Michael’s mother.
“We felt we had to do something,” he says.
Michael usually runs his lemonade post on July 4 to raise funds for lifeguards, but jumped it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lemonade will be taken by donation from nine a.m. to four p.m. September Five and 6 at 712five Huron Ave. Lexington.
A fundraiser for Willis’ son will be held on Saturday, September 26, at the Hot Rock Sports Bar and Music Café in Warren. There will be draws, auctions and acoustic performances. Admission is a $10 donation at the door. To stick to social distance guidelines, only another hundred people will be allowed at a time on the site.
A Facebook fundraiser was also filed to help Willis’ family circle with funeral expenses. By Saturday morning, he had reached nearly $12,000 of the $15,000 goal.
A GoFundMe was also introduced to increase the budget of DeMara’s wife and two children.
Contact Brian Wells at (810) 989-6269 or [email protected]. Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or [email protected].