By TruckCrash News Desk · Published August 30, 2026 · Michigan crash coverage compiled from official releases and local reporting
| Date & time | Sunday, August 30, 2026, at approximately 12:48 a.m. |
| Location | 11 Mile Road and Hayes Street, Morton Township, Mecosta County (near the village of Mecosta) |
| Vehicles | One truck, described by the sheriff’s office as a personal truck (single-vehicle crash) |
| Injuries | Two — the 25-year-old driver from Rodney and a 36-year-old passenger from Barryton, both with non-life-threatening injuries |
| Road impact | Power pole struck; Consumers Energy responded; no extended closure reported |
| Investigating agency | Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office |
What Happened
Two people were hurt shortly after midnight Sunday, August 30, 2026, when a truck failed to make a curve at 11 Mile Road and Hayes Street in Morton Township, went through a ditch, struck a power pole and overturned, the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were dispatched at about 12:48 a.m., according to the sheriff’s release reported by UpNorthLive and Big Rapids Daily News (WYBR). Investigators said the 25-year-old driver, a Rodney man, failed to navigate the curve, ran off the left side of the roadway and traveled through the ditch before the truck struck a power pole and rolled over. “The truck ran through the ditch, struck a power pole and overturned,” the sheriff’s office said.
The driver was taken by ambulance to Corewell Health in Big Rapids with non-life-threatening injuries. His passenger, a 36-year-old Barryton woman, was located at a different location after the crash and was later taken to Corewell Health by private vehicle, also with non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Names were not released.
The sheriff’s office said the crash remains under investigation because of suspected alcohol use before the crash. No charges had been announced as of Sunday afternoon. Deputies were assisted by Meceola Central Dispatch, Morton Township Fire and Rescue, Mecosta EMS, Hill Top Towing and Consumers Energy, which responded for the damaged pole.
Reporting: UpNorthLive (WPBN/WGTU) and Big Rapids Daily News (WYBR), with information from the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office.
The Investigation: What Happens Next
The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. Because deputies have said alcohol use is suspected, the next steps typically include the results of any blood test, a review of the driver’s statements and the passenger’s account, and a report to the Mecosta County Prosecutor’s Office, which decides whether to authorize charges. In Michigan, operating while intoxicated causing serious injury is a felony, but whether any charge applies here depends on findings that have not been released.
Investigators will also document the crash scene, including the curve geometry, the departure point from the roadway and the pole strike, to estimate speed. The passenger being found away from the scene is a detail investigators are likely to clarify — the release did not say whether she left on foot or was picked up.
TruckCrash News will update this report if the sheriff’s office or prosecutor announces charges or releases additional findings.
The Legal Picture
Q1. How are injuries in a single-vehicle truck crash covered in Michigan? Michigan’s no-fault system pays each injured person’s medical care, wage loss and related personal injury protection benefits through their own auto insurer or a household policy, regardless of fault. A passenger without a policy of their own generally claims through the driver’s insurer or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan. Our guide to Michigan no-fault insurance explains the basics.
Q2. Does a suspected-alcohol finding change the picture for a passenger? If a driver is found to have been impaired, an injured passenger may have a claim for non-economic damages against the driver’s liability coverage, provided the injury meets Michigan’s serious-impairment threshold. Nothing has been determined here; deputies have only said alcohol is suspected.
Q3. Who pays for the power pole? Utilities such as Consumers Energy typically seek reimbursement for a damaged pole from the at-fault driver’s property-damage liability coverage. General information on how Michigan crash claims are evaluated is on our Michigan truck accident lawyer page.
Note: The questions above are general information about how Michigan law is typically applied after a crash. They are not an assessment of this crash, and nothing here assumes fault on the part of anyone involved.
This Stretch of Road
11 Mile Road runs east-west through Morton Township in southeastern Mecosta County, passing near the village of Mecosta and the lakes district around Blue Lake and School Section Lake. Hayes Street meets it near a bend in the road — the sheriff’s office described the crash as a failure to navigate a curve. Rural roads in this part of the county are two-lane, unlit, and lined with ditches and utility poles close to the travel lanes, which is why run-off-road crashes here often involve a pole strike or rollover.
The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office has reported several serious single-vehicle crashes in the county in recent weeks, including a two-vehicle crash at Taft Road and 10th Avenue on August 24 that sent a Blanchard driver to the hospital. No road closures or construction were reported on 11 Mile Road at the time of Sunday’s crash.
If You Saw This Crash
The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office did not issue a specific appeal for witnesses, but anyone with information about the crash — including where the passenger was between the crash and her transport to the hospital — can contact the sheriff’s office in Big Rapids. If you have dash-camera or home security video from 11 Mile Road early Sunday, investigators generally ask that it be preserved.
- Truck overturns after hitting power pole in Mecosta County, deputies say — UpNorthLive (WPBN/WGTU)
- Two hospitalized after truck hits pole, overturns in Morton Township — Big Rapids Daily News / WYBR