Both drivers drunk in fatal car-motorcycle crash, police say - MLive.com
COURTLAND TOWNSHIP, MI – Police say a crash between two drunken drivers left a 23-year-old motorcyclist dead and the surviving 49-year-old SUV driver facing drunk driving charges. A Kent County Sheriff's Department investigation has determined that around 10 p. m. on June 20, Taylor John Miedema was driving his 2007 Yamaha motorcycle 80 to 90 miles an hour on 10 Mile Road NE, a road with a posted speed limit of 45 mph. Police say Miedema was coming over a dip in the road just south of Brower Lake as Dawn Anne Batchelder was backing a Chevrolet Tahoe out of a driveway. Batchelder was uninjured, but deputies determined she was drunk and she was booked into the Kent County Jail on a charge of operating while intoxicated causing death. However, later investigation determined that even if she had not been drunk, Batchelder likely could not have avoided the crash due to the speed and impaired line of sight, according to Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth. As a result of the investigation, Batchelder was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated, which carries a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a 30-day driver's license suspension. The investigation also revealed that Miedema was drunk while operating his motorcycle. "We had shared these findings with Mr. Miedema's family prior to charging Ms. Batchelder and they were aware of our decision," Forsyth said. Source: www.mlive.com
