The Associated Press
LAPEER TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A car struck a parade vehicle Saturday in rural Michigan, killing an 80-year-old woman and injuring 10 other people, authorities said.
Lapeer County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Jason Parks told The Associated Press that Jeanette Rumptz of Metamora Township died at the scene in Lapeer Township after she turned her car left and into the truck that had been converted to resemble a steam locomotive.
The parade truck was heading to the Metamora Country Days parade about five miles away.
Parks said the 10 people in the parade truck were hurt, including two children who sustained minor injuries. Two adults have life-threatening injuries at a nearby hospital, he said.
Seven people were ejected from an area in the back of the vehicle that was not enclosed and has wooden benches but no safety restraints. Parks said the vehicle is legal for use on the road.
Officials said neither excessive speed nor alcohol appeared to contribute to the crash. Parks said Rumptz obeyed a stop sign at the intersection and it’s not clear why she continued to drive into the path of the oncoming parade vehicle.
The accident happened about 60 miles northwest of Detroit.
The specialty vehicle commonly appears in local parades and belongs to the Lapeer chapter of La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux, known in English as The Society of 40 Men and 8 Horses. The veterans’ organization was founded by U.S. soldiers returning from France after World War I and was originally part of the American Legion.