An Isabella County man and his unidentified passenger were killed Tuesday when their SUV ran off the end of a rural Midland County road and landed upside down in the Chippewa River.
Officials said the 30-year-old driver was heading south on South 9 Mile Road when he ran off the road where it dead ends at the river.
“The driver failed to stop at the end of the road, drove over a street sign, through some heavy brush and landed upside down in the Chippewa River,” Midland Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Goodall said in a press release.
Midland sheriff officials said late Wednesday that neither the driver nor the passenger would be named until they identify the passenger and notify both families.
Goodall said the man’s 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer was in about 2.5 feet of water when police arrived about 8:45 p.m.
The accident occurred in Lee Township, about seven miles east of Oil City and about two miles south of M-20.
Both the driver and passenger were pronounced dead at the scene by Midland County Medical Examiner J. Daniel Cline, Goodall said in the press release.
South 9 Mile Road ends on the north side of the Chippewa River, about a half-mile south of Stewart Road, and starts again immediately south of the river.
Goodall said speed appears to be a factor in the crash, but officials are awaiting toxicology reports to see if drugs or alcohol were also involved.
