By the TruckCrash News Desk
Date & time: Sunday, September 6, 2026, about 9:12 a.m.
Location: Harlan Road at M-115, Cleon Township, Manistee County
Vehicles: Box truck; Jeep
Injuries: Jeep passenger, 39, killed; Jeep driver, 49, critically injured; box truck occupants evaluated and released
Road impact: Intersection controlled during on-scene investigation; no extended closure reported
Investigating agency: Michigan State Police, Cadillac Post
What Happened
A 39-year-old Ohio woman was killed and a 49-year-old Ohio man was critically injured when a box truck collided with their Jeep at the intersection of Harlan Road and M-115 in Cleon Township, in the northeastern corner of Manistee County. According to a Michigan State Police release reported by EUP News and the Ludington Daily News, troopers from the Cadillac Post were dispatched to the crash at about 9:12 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2026.
Investigators said the box truck was traveling south on Harlan Road when it failed to stop at the stop sign at M-115 and struck the Jeep, which was traveling southeast on the state highway. The Jeep’s passenger, the 39-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her driver, a 49-year-old man also from Ohio, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. The box truck’s driver, a 24-year-old Grayling man, and his passenger, a 21-year-old from Merritt, were medically evaluated and released, per the state police release.
Troopers said preliminary investigation indicates drugs may have been a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation by the MSP Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit. The Traverse City Record-Eagle also covered the crash and reported some details differently, including the Jeep driver’s age; we have relied on the account of the state police release carried by multiple outlets and will update if MSP clarifies. Our condolences go out to the family of the woman who lost her life.
Reporting: EUP News, the Ludington Daily News, and the Traverse City Record-Eagle, with information from the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post.
The Investigation: What Happens Next
The Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit was called to the scene, which in MSP practice signals a full forensic workup: total-station mapping of the intersection, vehicle damage analysis, and downloads of any event data recorders on both vehicles. Because troopers have said drugs may have been involved, toxicology testing will be a central thread of the investigation, and those lab results routinely take several weeks.
Once the reconstruction is complete, the case file would ordinarily go to the Manistee County Prosecutor’s Office for review of possible charges. State police have not announced any arrests or charges, and no one has been charged as of this writing. MSP was assisted at the scene by the Northwest Wexford Emergency Authority, Mobile Medical Response, Wexford County Animal Control, and Peterson’s Towing, according to the release.
The Legal Picture
How do stop-sign crashes at highway intersections play out legally? Intersections where a county road meets a state highway are governed by clear right-of-way rules, and the official crash reconstruction typically determines how those rules applied. In Michigan’s no-fault system, each injured person’s own auto insurer generally pays medical benefits first, regardless of fault; our overview of Michigan no-fault insurance explains how that works.
Does it matter that one vehicle was a box truck? When a commercial-type vehicle is involved, investigators often look at additional questions — who owned the truck, whether it was being used for work at the time, and whether maintenance or hours-of-service rules apply. Those answers can shape both the investigation and any later claims, as we discuss in our guide to truck accident cases in Michigan.
What about the family of someone killed? Survivors’ benefits under no-fault, and potentially a wrongful-death claim depending on the investigation’s findings, are the usual paths — but everything rests on facts that are still being established.
Nothing in this section assumes fault by anyone involved. The state police investigation is ongoing and no findings have been finalized.
This Stretch of Road
M-115 runs diagonally across the northwest Lower Peninsula, connecting Clare to Frankfort, and the segment through Cleon Township carries a steady mix of commuters, tourists bound for Crystal Mountain and the Lake Michigan shore, and commercial traffic cutting between US-131 and the coast. It is a two-lane highway with 55 mph speeds, and its diagonal path means many of its intersections with the north-south county grid — like Harlan Road — meet at skewed angles that can complicate sight lines for drivers stopped on the side roads.
Rural stop-controlled intersections along fast two-lane highways are consistently among Michigan’s most dangerous crash environments, because collisions there tend to happen at highway speed and often strike the passenger side of a vehicle crossing or turning. The nearby M-115 corridor through Manistee and Wexford counties has seen serious crashes before, including a fatal three-vehicle crash near Cadillac covered by this site in August.
If You Saw This Crash
The Michigan State Police Cadillac Post is handling the investigation. If you were traveling M-115 in Cleon Township on Sunday morning, September 6, and saw either vehicle before the collision — or if you have dashcam footage from the area around 9 a.m. — contact the MSP Cadillac Post and reference the Harlan Road and M-115 crash.
EUP News: Two-vehicle crash in Manistee County results in one dead
Ludington Daily News: Ohio woman killed in Cleon Township crash
Traverse City Record-Eagle: One killed, one critically injured in crash with box truck
About TruckCrash News
TruckCrash News covers serious traffic crashes across Michigan every day, because we believe families, neighbors, and policymakers deserve a clear public record of what is happening on our roads. Reports are compiled from official statements and on-the-record news coverage, and we update stories as agencies release new information.
Disclaimer: This article is a news report based on information from the sources cited. Details of active investigations frequently change as agencies release new findings. Nothing here is legal advice, and no statement in this article should be read as assigning fault to any person involved.