NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police has released its preliminary findings on the crash that killed a Norton Shores police officer.
According to MSP, Officer Jonathan Ginka, 34, was not responding to a call Wednesday morning when his cruiser crashed into a tree on Henry Street in Norton Shores. The cruiser was traveling 46 mph at the time of the crash. State police have determined speed was not a factor in the crash.
Ginka was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash.
A MSP crash reconstructionist found the cruiser went off road for roughly two seconds and approximately 145 feet. The data recorder shows Ginka took his foot off the accelerator then put it on the brake just before crashing to the tree.
Even though Ginka applied the brakes, MSP says it wasn’t able to stop the cruiser from colliding with the tree.
MSP notes that images used by the media show the cruiser after firefighters take off the roof and door so crews could free Ginka from the wreckage.
Autopsy results are expected to be released by the end of May, state police said.
Ginka was a 10-year veteran of the Norton Shores Police Department. He was also a former North Muskegon firefighter and graduate of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s police academy.
He leaves behind a wife and two children, as well as his parents and many friends and family. Longtime officials say Ginka is the first on-duty officer the Norton Shores Police Department has lost.