BAY CITY (WWJ) Six people died in a two-vehicle crash east of Bay City, sheriff's officials said.
The Tuscola County Sheriff's Office said it happened in Gilford Township, about 20 miles southeast of Bay City, at the intersection of Vassar and Fairgrove roads-- on Tuesday, August 12, around 4:45 p.m.
Authorities told WWJ a pickup truck with three people inside was traveling south on Vassar, when it blew through a stop sign. It struck a westbound van carrying ten people.
"Multiple passengers were ejected from the van and the pickup," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Authorities have not released the conditions of the other seven people involved. All were taken to the hospital.
The Sheriff's Office was assisted by Fairgrove Fire, Akron Fire, Reese Fire, Munger Fire, Flight Care, MMR, Medstar, Caro PD, Akron PD, The Tuscola County Road Commission, DTE, D&J Towing, and Ransford Collon Funeral Home.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
According to the Associated Press, the van was carrying members of an Amish community.
A separate tragedy involving the Amish community occurred on the west side of the state on Tuesday when a pickup truck slammed into an Amish buggy in Montcalm Township, northeast of Grand Rapids. The AP reports a 4-month-old girl died. Four other children in the buggy were rushed to the hospital, with conditions ranging from serious to critical. A woman is also in critical condition, according to Michigan State Police.
"Please keep those affected by this tragedy in your thoughts," the Tuscola County Sheriff's Office said of the crash in Gilford Township. "These incidents are preventable and people need to slow down and obey traffic laws."
