MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI -- Two people died and a third critically injured in a crash on northbound U.S. 31 Tuesday that is believed to have been caused by a blown tire.
An older couple -- a male driver and female front seat passenger -- were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash about 1 1/2 miles south of Lakewood Road, said Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler. A rear-seat passenger managed to free herself from the wreckage and was taken to Mercy Health Muskegon's Hackley Campus in critical condition, he said.
The crash occurred around 1 p.m., and Dalton Township firefighters responded along with Muskegon County sheriff deputies.
"The car is just totally demolished and wrapped around a tree," Roesler said.
Several witnesses said the vehicle, a white van, was passing a semi-truck when its rear driver's-side tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control, Roesler said. The van rolled several times in the median before wrapping around the tree, he said.
A small lap dog was freed from the wreckage more than an hour after the crash and is expected to be OK, Roesler said.
Roesler did not know where the victims were from.