LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Two people were killed and five others were injured following a single-vehicle crash in Berrien County.
It happened shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday on westbound I-94 near the 18 mile marker in Lake Township, near Stevensville.
Authorities say the vehicle, a 2003 Ford Expedition XLT with Illinois registration, went off the highway and rolled into a wooded area. There were seven people inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Two people, 32-year-old Francisco Valle-Lopez and 13-year-old Osvaldo Leon, were pronounced dead at the scene. Four people, the 38-year-old driver, 17-year-old girl, 15-year-old man and 4-year-old girl, were taken to a hospital in St. Joseph by ambulance. Alma Leon, 33, was flown to a hospital in South Bend, Indiana. Her condition is unknown at this time.
The victims were mostly from Elgin, Illinois — expect for Valle-Lopez and Leon, who were visiting from Guerro, Mexico on valid passports, the release said.
The interstate closed for about three hours earlier because of the crash, according to MDOT.
Investigators are looking into a retread tire as a possible cause to the crash. Alcohol and drugs don’t appear to be factors.