UPDATE: Investigators have backed off initial suspicions that a deadly crash on I-96 was the result of road rage.
Leslie Pablo-Matias, 20, died after the Sunday afternoon crash on I-96 west of Jordan Lake Road, officials said. Investigators say the Wyoming woman was speeding while driving westbound when she lost control of her SUV, which rolled and crashed into a tree.
Initially, Ionia County Sheriff’s investigators said a witness led them to believe that the crash may have been the result of road rage. But after investigating further, police said they no longer suspect that was the case.
BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Authorities have released the name of a Wyoming woman killed in an I-96 crash that may have involved road rage.
The Ionia County Sheriff’s Office tells 24 Hour News 8 the victim is 20-year-old Leslie Pablo-Matias.
The scene of a fatal rollover crash off I-96 west of Jordan Lake Road in Berlin Township. (Feb. 19, 2017)
Authorities say Pablo-Matias’ Jeep Liberty was westbound, traveling at a high rate of speed when she lost control just west of Jordan Lake Road around 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Jeep veered off the highway, flipped and hit a tree. The highway was shut down while authorities responded to the deadly crash.
Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that a white Honda Accord may have been involved in some sort of road rage incident with the driver of the Jeep before the crash. Authorities said Sunday night that they were still investigating which driver may have been the aggressor in the road rage.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 616.527.5737 or Silent Observer at 616.527.0107.