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A Houghton man is dead and his two brothers injured following an accident with a semi truck in Iron County.
Troopers from the Michigan State Police Iron Mountain Post responded to a personal injury crash involving a passenger car occupied by three brothers and semi-tractor trailer on Wednesday around 1:00pm on Bates Amasa Road, near Paulson Road in Bates Township.
The preliminary investigation determined that the driver of the car failed to negotiate a curve, loss control of the vehicle, crossed over the center line and collided with the semi.
The driver of the car was a 16-year old male from Houghton, who was taken to Aspirus Hospital and later air lifted to a Wisconsin hospital where he is listed in critical condition.
The front passenger, a 22-year old Houghton man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The rear passenger, a 20-year-old man from Houghton was taken by ambulance to Aspirus Hospital where he was treated and admitted for non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the truck was a 58-year-old Iron River man. He was not injured in the crash.
All persons involved were wearing seatbelts. Icy snow covered roads are believed to be a factor.
The investigation by the Michigan State Police is ongoing.
The identities of those involved have not been released by investigators, but a GoFundMe site established to raise money for the family identifies the dead passenger as 22-year-old John Wheeler. A release from the Memorial Chapel and Plowe Funeral Homes confirms that they are handling arrangements for John Wheeler, which will be announced at a later time. The GoFundMe site says that Leo Wheeler is the brother being treated in Wisconsin, and that the third brother is Toby Wheeler. You can visit that GoFundMe site here.
