2 injured, classic car damaged in U.S. 31 crash
Mon, Oct 13, 2008 
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BY BECKY VARGO
bvargo@grandhaventribune.com
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — Two people suffered serious injuries when their car went out of control and hit a guardrail on southbound U.S. 31 north of Taft Street late Saturday afternoon.
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Southbound traffic was backed up for an hour after the 5:30 p.m. accident.
Tom and Kathy Huizenga, both 55, of Hudsonville were the occupants of the car, according to Den Overbeek of Hamilton, a member of the Just Friends Car Club which had been on an all-day color tour. Members of the club are primarily from the Holland-Zeeland area.
The Huizengas, in charge of the group's dinner for the night, were taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Muskegon. Kathy was listed in critical condition and Tom was in stable condition this morning.
Witness Jason Semans of Holland, who was a couple of cars behind, said it looked like Huizenga's car pulled out to pass when "the vehicle started to wiggle, and boom — he was into the (guard)rail."
Semans said the back of the vehicle went up into the air, slammed down and the car spun around before coming to a rest back on the road. Semans said he and his wife checked on the crashed vehicle's occupants, but said they could not get to them because the custom-made car did not have any door handles on the outside.
Firefighters forced open the vehicle to get to the couple so they could receive aid.
Sgt. Kevin Allman of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department said Tom Huizenga told him he experienced a possible steering problem, lost control of his car — a 1928 Ford two-door — and slammed into the median guardrail.
The Huizengas own the party store at the Anchorage Marina in Holland, according to Overbeek. The car club had just left Craig's Cruisers on Pontaluna Road and was heading to the marina for dinner when the crash happened, Overbeek said.
