MENDON TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A six-month-old boy is dead after the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind by a suspected drunk driver in St. Joseph County Tuesday morning.
Just before 7:00 a.m. deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department responded to the area of M-60 and Angevine Rd in Mendon Township for a two vehicle personal injury accident. A vehicle driven by 30-year-old Samantha Adams, with her 6-month-old son Alden Adams as a passenger, was westbound on M-60, but then stopped, waiting for traffic to clear to make a southbound turn onto Angevine Road.
Police say the second vehicle driven by a 24-year-old Jimenez Lopez was also westbound when he failed to slow down or stop and rear ended the stopped vehicle waiting to turn.
Lopez was located approximately 150 yards from his crashed vehicle in a corn field with minor injuries and admitted to police and fire personnel that he had been drinking and was trying to evade police by crawling away from the crash scene.
With the help of Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement the male driver was identified as being a Mexican citizen and was currently in the United States illegally and did not have a valid driver’s license.
Lopez was transported to Beacon Health Three Rivers and then to Borgess Hospital for minor injuries.
Samantha Adams was transported to Beacon Health Three Rivers with minor injuries, while her son Alden was transported to Beacon Health Three Rivers in critical condition and transferred again to Bronson Methodist Hospital where he died from his injuries.
The crash is currently still under investigation and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office says alcohol does appear to be a factor. Jimenez Lopez is currently in custody.
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