HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Eleven people died on Michigan roads over the last week, according to a Michigan State Police email to media on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.
Since Jan. 1, police have document 179 crash-related deaths and 882 serious injuries. In the last week alone 33 people suffered serious injuries in traffic crashes.
Compared to this time last year, that is 27 fewer fatalities and 186 fewer serious injuries.
Chippewa County Sheriff Michael Bitnar is about to mark his one-year anniversary of surviving a major traffic crash — and is praising his seatbelt.
The crash happened on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, he was headed west on M-28, in a car full of supplies to the family cabin in Paradise.
About 25 miles from his destination, an eastbound vehicle pulled into Bitnar’s lane. In a split-second, he was able to avoid a head-on collision. But he couldn’t avoid being hit, on the driver’s side of his Prius, the force of which sent the Prius rolling before landing in a ditch.
Bitnar survived with multiple injuries: a ruptured spleen, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and severe pain for weeks. But Bitnar survived, because he was wearing his seatbelt.
The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and AAA Michigan honored Bitnar for buckling up by presenting him with the Saved by the Belt Award..
“As a law enforcement officer, I have seen so many people die in crashes that wouldn’t have if they had only worn their seat belt,” said Bitnar. “Wearing a seat belt is the most basic way to ensure your safety during a crash and I’m thankful I wear mine every time I’m in a vehicle.”
In Michigan in 2018, 192 people were killed in traffic crashes that were not wearing seat belts. A 2019 observational study by Michigan State University estimated statewide seat belt use at 94.4 percent.
Michigan’s primary seat belt law took effect on March 10, 2000.
“During the last two decades, 3,454 lives have been saved because of the seat belt law,” said Michael L. Prince, OHSP director. “Buckling up saves lives, and Sheriff Bitnar is living proof.”
