Out of control semi truck claims lives of husband and wife in US-2 accident in Delta County

Delta County, MI – At approximately 3:55pm on Friday, January 27, troopers from the Michigan State Police, Gladstone Post, were dispatched to a multi-vehicle traffic crash on US-2 near the Fishdam River. This location is in Garden Township of Delta County. Upon arrival, troopers encountered several vehicles involved in the crash with multiple injuries. Several EMS agencies were dispatched to the scene and first aid was immediately rendered. US-2 was closed during this investigation.

Troopers learned through the investigation that a white Toyota SUV and a black Chevrolet SUV were heading eastbound on US-2 while approaching a westbound semi-truck and trailer. The semi-truck lost control and drifted towards the north side of the highway. The semi-truck attempted to correct this by steering towards the southside of the highway at which time the semi-truck crossed the centerline into the eastbound lane. The semi-truck struck the white Toyota SUV head-on. The two occupants of the white Toyota SUV, Gerald Weaver (47 yrs-old) and Tara Weaver (46 yrs-old) of Escanaba Michigan, were pronounced dead at the scene. After this impact, the trailer portion of the semi-truck and trailer remained in the roadway at which time the black Chevrolet SUV struck the rear end of the trailer. The driver of the Chevrolet SUV, a 38-yr-old male from Oshkosh Wisconsin, was pinned inside the vehicle and extrication was needed to remove him. He suffered multiple broken bones in this incident. The driver of the semi-truck was from Canada and was not injured. After this crash, 2 additional vehicles collided as they attempted to stop. This involved a semi-truck and trailer and a passenger vehicle. No injuries were sustained in this secondary crash.

Agencies assisting with this traffic crash include troopers from the Gladstone Post and Manistique Outpost as well as Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers from the St. Ignace Post. Additional agencies included the Delta County Sheriff’s Dept., DNR, Rampart EMS, Manistique EMS, Inwood Township Fire/EMS, Thompson Township Fire, Nahma Township Fire, Garden Township Fire, Gene’s Towing and the Delta County Road Commission.

Speed and driving too fast for conditions are considered to be factors in this crash and the crash remains under investigation.