3 vehichle crash in Duplain Township claims life of 14-year-old Ovid resident

OVID — A three-vehicle crash which claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy early Thursday remains under investigation.

According to a press release from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, at approximately 7:25 a.m. the 46-year-old driver of a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix traveling north on Hollister Road in Duplain Twp. lost control near the intersection with Kinley Road.

The Grand Prix collided with a southbound 2019 Chevrolet Equinox, and then a southbound 2007 Ford F-150 hit the rear of the Equinox.

The 14-year-old boy, the front-seat passenger in the Grand Prix, died at the scene from his injuries. A 12-year-old boy, the rear-seat passenger in the Grand Prix, was thrown from the car and is in critical but stable condition at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, as is the driver of the Grand Prix.

Clinton County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Clarke said Thursday afternoon by phone that whether the 14-year-old boy was wearing a seat belt remains under investigation. All three occupants of the Grand Prix were from Ovid.

The driver of the Equinox, a 59-year-old Elsie resident, was taken to Memorial Hospital in Owosso for treatment of minor injuries. The 38-year-old Elsie resident driving the F-150 was uninjured and refused medical treatment.

In a letter to Ovid-Elsie Area Schools families sent out late Thursday afternoon, interim superintendent Randy Barton asked that those involved in the crash “be kept in your thoughts.”

Extra counseling staff will be on hand in each O-E building on Friday to care for students, Barton’s letter continues, and families are asked to reach out to their student’s specific school building if extra support is needed.

In addition, a special school board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight was canceled.