car accident

Oakland County chief recovering after crash

The Associated Press — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:44:35 +0000

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Oakland County's top elected official is in stable condition after suffering several broken bones and a gash to his scalp in a two-car crash in suburban Detroit.

Officials at McLaren Health Center in Pontiac say 74-year-old L. Brooks Patterson remained hospitalized Saturday, one day after the car he was riding in collided with another vehicle in Auburn Hills.

Patterson underwent surgery Friday night to repair broken bones.

Author Jeffrey Zaslow

Jack Lessenberry — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:08:57 +0000

There’s a funeral today for best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow, who was killed on a snowy Michigan road Friday morning. He had been at a book signing event in Petoskey the night before.

Report: Traffic crashes add up to $4.8 billion a year in economic costs

Rick Pluta — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:39:30 +0000

A new State Police report says traffic crashes in Michigan carry a price tag of $4.8 billion dollars a year. The report says the cost of traffic crashes in Michigan exceeds the cost of crimes.

Researchers used data from 2009, when the human toll of traffic crashes was 937 deaths and more than 70,000 injuries. They put the economic damage for those crashes at $4.8 billion dollars. That includes the cost of medical care, property damage, and lost earnings, among other things.

The institute also used data on jury awards to put a value on pain and suffering caused by traffic crashes, which put the number over $9 billion dollars. The study compared the dollar loss from crashes to the cost of violent and property crimes that are tracked by the state, and found the costs of crime are dwarfed by the costs of traffic crashes.

The report was commissioned by the state Office of Highway Safety Planning and was conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.