TRAVERSE CITY — One woman died and several other people were injured in a pair of Grand Traverse County traffic crashes.
The woman, 52, of Interlochen, died after she stopped to help the victims of a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 31 near Betsie River Road in Green Lake Township at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday. She was outside her vehicle helping the victims when another vehicle lost control and struck the first two vehicles, killing her.
Police didn't immediately identify the woman Friday morning.
The first crash happened when a truck driven by Tammy Jones, 48, of Benzonia crossed the center line and struck a vehicle driven by Marc Alderman, 34, of Interlochen. Both drivers were the only occupants of their vehicles.
The Interlochen woman along with Brock Widrig, 30, also of Interlochen, and Hannah Varenhorst, 27, of Beulah, stopped to help the victims. As they assisted, a car driven by Christopher Leeder, 23, of Interlochen, lost control and struck the vehicles.
The Interlochen woman was killed. Widrig received minor injuries and wasn't hospitalized; Varenhorst received minor injuries and was taken to Munson Medical Center.
Jones and Alderman both suffered serious injuries and were taken to Munson Medical Center.
Police believe slippery roads contributed to both crashes.
