A quiet Saturday afternoon on the roads near Lapeer and Greenshield was shattered around 1:11 p.m. last week. An 86-year-old Rochester Hills man, identified as Alfred Henry Young, lost his life after a violent head-on collision. It’s the kind of news that hits the desk and just feels heavy, especially with the details trickling in.
The crash involved a 2015 Ford Fiesta traveling northbound on Lapeer Road. For reasons the investigators are still scratching their heads over—or maybe they just don’t have the full picture yet—the driver, a 63-year-old man from Hazel Park, veered off the road. The car punched through the median and slammed directly into Young’s 2011 Lincoln MKX.
I can almost hear the sirens in my head, thinking about that stretch of road. It’s usually fairly standard, but now it’s a scene for the Crash Reconstruction Unit to pick apart.
Authorities report that Young passed away at the hospital shortly after the impact. His wife, also 86, is fighting for her life in critical condition, which is just devastating. The driver of the Fiesta and his own passenger—his wife, I believe—are in that same critical state. It leaves so many questions about what actually happened out there in that median.
The sheriff’s office was quick to clarify, at least, that drugs and alcohol aren’t on the table. Speed doesn’t seem to be the culprit either. Sometimes these things just happen, which is almost harder to process than if there was a clear, reckless cause to point to. Misryoum will keep an eye on the official reports, but for now, the investigation is still ongoing.
It’s a grim reminder of how quickly things change on the pavement. One minute you’re driving to wherever you were headed, and the next… well, the road is closed and everything shifts.