Police release name of Southgate woman killed in I-94 crash
Judy Mackenzie, 66, of Southgate, died Thursday afternoon after a rollover crash on westbound Interstate 94 west of Rawsonville Road.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
- Previous report: 1 dead in rollover crash on Interstate 94; freeway closed
Police on Friday released the name of the 66-year-old Southgate woman killed in a two-car crash Thursday on Interstate 94 near Rawsonville Road in Ypsilanti Township.
Judy Mackenzie was driving a 2001 Dodge Neon that rolled over in the median of the freeway, according to a news release from the Michigan State Police. She died from injuries suffered in the accident.
Fire crews from Van Buren Township attempted to extricate Mackenzie, who was pinned in the vehicle, but she was soon pronounced dead at the scene, said Ypsilanti fire Capt. Scott Madison.
Mackenzie was wearing a seat belt, according to state police. Troopers were first called out to the accident around 1:30 p.m. on the westbound lanes of the freeway.
The second vehicle in the crash was a silver 2013 Mitsubishi Galant driven by a 26-year-old woman from Melbourne, Fla. The woman, who also was wearing her seatbelt, suffered injuries in the crash and was treated at a local hospital, according to police. A 32-year-old California woman who was a passenger in the MItsubishi did not require medical attention. She was wearing her seatbelt, as well.
Police were not immediately releasing the details of how the accident happened.
"At this time the crash remains under investigation," the state police release states.
View Fatal crash in a larger map
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
AlwaysLate
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 9:34 p.m.
A prayer for Ms. Mackenzie. I've been wondering though, a good portion of all auto accident articles on annarbor.com refer to the occupants wearing...or not wearing seat belts. As if not wearing a seat belt somehow influenced the accident. Not mentioning seat belt status would not detract from the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" of your reporting. (Unless you believe seat belts influence accidents.) Clearly, seat belts did not help Ms. Mackenzie, may she rest in peace.
johnnya2
Sat, Apr 27, 2013 : 5:38 p.m.
It would matter because it would let you know if this woman had a propensity to ignore traffic laws in the first place. It also let's you know the accident was more than her being tossed from the vehicle and dying from that. As somebody who lost a cousin in an auto accident in which he was decapitated and not wearing a seatbelt in the backseat of a car (it was not required by law) I like to know could the person have given themselves a better chance of survival by buckling up. It is most definitely part of the WHAT
Ann English
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 11:39 p.m.
When the Ann Arbor News was a daily hardcopy, it was always mentioned whether or not a driver was wearing a seatbelt. It's only recent that annarbor.com has begun doing what the hardcopy daily always did. The daily hardcopy reported that when secondary enforcement of seat belt use laws went into effect in Washtenaw County, a man who still wouldn't buckle up had a fatal accident within the first two days; his car fell on him. He had been driving in the western part of the county, but not on any expressways.
Susan Montgomery
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 11:19 p.m.
My driver's ed teacher at Pioneer in the 80s, Mr. Karr, lined his classroom with newspaper articles about driving deaths, and in almost all of them the person that died was not wearing a seat belt. The message was very powerful.
Thaddeus
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 10:52 p.m.
I agree in that I do not believe that (not) wearing a seatbelt typically directly influences the cause of an auto accident, but often the survival of one. Perhaps this is mentioned as public service education because wearing a seat belt is one of the best things a person can do to greatly increase their chances of surviving an auto accident. Yes, people who wear seatbelts do perish in auto accidents (as happened here). However, I challenge you to find much of any accidents in which the victim would have otherwise survived or fared better by not wearing a seat belt.... At the same time, probably most fatalities and serious injuries suffered in auto accidents by people not wearing seat belts could have been prevented/ lessened had seat belts been worn. Not wearing a seat belt makes it 30 times as likely that a person will be ejected from the vehicle during an accident. Even if one survives being forced through a windshield, there is a 75% one will die as one is then likely to be run-over, rolled-over on, or die from being thrown into a hard surface.... http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbeltbrief/ If all three individuals involved in this accident had NOT been wearing seat belts, there likely would have been far more severe injuries to the survivors, and perhaps two or three fatalies instead of one.... Deepest condolences to all involved.
DBH
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 10:27 p.m.
I don't understand your comment. Are you advocating that the reporter withhold information on the seatbelt status of occupants of vehicles in accidents? If so, how is less information better than more?
Ann English
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 7 p.m.
So it was a Dodge, just not a modern-day Dodge Dart. What I wrote yesterday about today's Darts, I'll write about Dodge Neons today: I hope they're just as protective of their occupants as yesterday's Neons. After reading the headline, I was afraid I was going to read about the vehicular accident death of someone I know who works in Southgate.
Ann English
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 11:29 p.m.
All right, Billy, so you disagree with Paul from yesterday. I'm assuming that Judy's airbags didn't contribute to her losing her life. I imagine the 26-year-old may have been injured from HER airbags. If Dodge Neons are much safer today than in the eighties, they advertise for themselves if they're a body shop's free loaner model.
Billy
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 9:38 p.m.
WHy in the world would my comment be removed? It didn't in any way violate TOS....again... IN fact it's countering the idea that old cars are safer than new cars....which was allowed to remain in the previous article even though it's completely wrong. Old cars are MUCH more dangerous than new cars...it's a huge myth that old vehicles are safer.
Honest Abe
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 6:31 p.m.
Green Neon? Hmmm
Honest Abe
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 11:56 p.m.
Hey A2.Com - How about clarifying that you had the color wrong, therefore readers will have a clue what I'm commenting about?!?!? There again, the enquirer has more accurate articles than you folks at A2.Com produce at times. FACT.
Goodphotographer
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 6:22 p.m.
'attempted to extricate the Mackenzie,' well?
Julie Baker
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 : 6:31 p.m.
The stray 'the' has been removed.