The initial investigation into the crash that killed two Eastern Michigan University students early Sunday shows they were not wearing seat belts and their vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, police said.
Shannise Heady, 21, from Hazel Crest, Ill., and Jordan Hopkins, 23, of Dexter were killed in a crash shortly before 1 a.m. Jan. 25 on Hewitt Road near Midvale Street in Ypsilanti Township.
"Speed had a lot to do with it," said Derrick Jackson, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Heady was driving north on Hewitt when her vehicle crossed into the center line and struck another vehicle head on. Jackson did not know the exact speed at which Heady was driving. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 45 mph.
A 22-year-old Ann Arbor man was injured and taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital with non-life threatening injuries including a fractured vertebrae and rib, Jackson said. He was wearing his seat belt, Jackson said.
While the vehicle Heady and Hopkins were in was traveling at a high rate of speed, he said, he did not know their exact speed.
The speed limit on that stretch of Hewitt Road is 45 miles per hour.
Jackson said he did yet not know where the students were coming from or where they were going to.
The sheriff's office is waiting for the toxicology report to come back, which should take a couple more days, he said.
Heady, a forward of the women's basketball team, was a health care administration junior and Hopkins was a psychology major senior.
Prior to the crash, Heady had played in a 2 p.m. basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the University of Toledo. Heady had transferred in from Seton Hall University.
The EMU women's basketball team is scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28 at Western Michigan University.
While the university has not planned a memorial for students at this point, students and family or the athletic department could organize one for Heady and Hopkins, said Geoff Larcom, EMU spokesman.
Lindsay Knake is the K-12 education reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com.