​​This information is preliminary and subject to change.

Release date 3 September 2025

​On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, about 4:44 p.m. eastern daylight time, a 1998 Ford E-350 Econoline 15-passenger van was traveling west on Michigan Route 138 (M 138), Fairgrove Road, west of Fairgrove Township, Tuscola County, Michigan. The van was occupied by a driver and nine passengers and traveling at a driver-estimated speed of 55 mph. As the van crossed the intersection with North Vassar Road, it was struck on the passenger side by a 2012 Ford F-150 pickup truck traveling south. The pickup truck was occupied by a driver and two front-seat passengers. After colliding, both vehicles were redirected southwest into a field. As the vehicles entered the field, the van overturned onto its passenger side, and six passengers were ejected or partially ejected. The driver in the pickup truck was also ejected. As a result of the crash, five van occupants and the driver of the pickup truck were fatally injured. The driver of the van, four van passengers, and the two pickup truck passengers sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious.

In the area of the crash, both M-138 and North Vassar Road were undivided, two-lane asphalt roadways with one approximately 11-foot-wide travel lane in each direction. The speed limit on both roadways was 55 mph. At the intersection, M-138 had the right of way, and southbound traffic on North Vassar Road was controlled by stop signs in both the right and left shoulders. The stop signs were preceded by traffic signs with a stop-ahead symbol, also located in the right and left shoulders, about 690 feet ahead of the intersection.

​The party to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation is the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office.

All aspects of the collision remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.