GH councilman involved in I-96 chain reaction accident

Grand Haven City Councilman Ed Nieuwenhuis, 69, and his wife Sandra, 68, were injured Thursday morning in a chain reaction crash on Interstate 96 near Marne.

Sgt. Dennis Luce of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said the incident occurred at about 9:15 a.m. when Nieuwenhuis’ vehicle, which was sitting in a traffic back-up on eastbound I-96, was rear-ended by a Lincoln Navigator driven by 65-year-old William Krause of Spring Lake.

“The traffic was backed up due to an unrelated vehicle fire,” Luce said.

The rear-end collision caused Nieuwenhuis’ vehicle to hit a 1997 Ford Expedition, driven by 27-year-old Muskegon Heights resident Darryl Lee Williams Jr.; as well as a Volkswagen, driven by 52-year-old Wayne Frutchey of Muskegon, Luce said.

Luce said the eastbound portion of I-96 was closed for more than an hour as a result of the accident.

According to police, both Sandra and Ed Nieuwenhuis were taken by a Life EMS ambulance to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, where they were treated and released for minor injuries.

Krause was taken to Mercy Hospital in Muskegon, where he was listed in stable condition. Williams was treated at the scene with minor injuries. Two passengers in Williams’ vehicle were uninjured.

All parties were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident, Luce said.

To read more of this story, see today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.