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Travis Rademacher, a 19 year old DeWitt teenager, was killed in a car accident last Saturday in Oneida Township when his vehicle collided with another car driven by Matthew Merrill of Lansing. The crash occurred after Mr. Rademacher stopped at a stop sign on St. Joseph Highway before turning onto M-100. Both Mr. Rademacher and his passenger were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash. Mr. Rademacher was transported to a Lansing area hospital, but unfortunately he passed away a short time after the crash.

It’s not entirely clear what caused this crash. Darkness could have played a factor in the crash since it happened after sunset. Another factor could have been the speed of the car traveling on M-100. Or it could be that both drivers are inexperienced, given they were both under the age of 20, and also not paying attention to the other cars on the road. Our blog has talked a number of times about the dangers of distracted driving, most recently concerning text messaging.

While we don’t know what caused this crash to occur, we should nonetheless be mindful of the potential causes of accidents and do our best to be attentive drivers. Please be careful when driving this holiday season so you can make it home safe and sound.

3 Comments

  1. Gravatar for NRE
    NRE

    How nice of you to SPECULATE as to what actually caused this accident before the police report is even released. I stumbled on your site by accident while looking for information on Travis Rademacher's memorial service. I was quite upset to read that THIS SITE has taken what little information that has been released regarding the accident, added its own speculations as to the possible cause(s) of the crash, and apparently used this modified story as a spring board to advertise attorneys. BRAVO! Nice way to turn another family's tragedy into a possible profit-making venture for you.

  2. Gravatar for Haley
    Haley

    Hello. I would like to take a moment to express my opinion about this article. I just happened to notice it today... and I have to say I am shocked.

    I am Travis's younger sister, Haley. When I first read this small article I thought "This man must not be able to empathize with us. He probably has never experienced the sort of trauma I have seen." Which really, is understandable. I wouldn't wish anyone to ever know the feelings I have. However, from reading your "biography" I saw that you were an EMT and worked in an emergency room atmosphere. This leads me to believe you MUST have some sort of idea of occurs after such a serious accident.

    As the previous commenter mentioned... it was not your place to speculate the cause of this accident. It was just an accident, plain and simple. My family does not need someone who we don't even know blogging about what may have happened. Using my brother's accident as a platform to discuss teens driving negligently is just inappropriate and rude.

  3. Gravatar for Devon Glass
    Devon Glass

    Haley:

    I do apologize if what I wrote hurt your feelings or made you upset. It was not my intention to harm you or anyone who knew Travis with my words and I am sincerely apologetic.

    I do have personal experience with death and automobile accidents. My older brother was killed in an accident 19 years ago when the driver of his vehicle rolled through a stop sign and was broadsided by a semi-truck. He survived for a week but eventually the damage to his brain was too much and we had to let him go. I've never forgotten about what happened to him and he's part of the reason I do this job for a living.

    Part of my job involves helping people after they've been injured in an accident, but it also involves trying to help people avoid accidents. My speculation would have been better said as tips for any accidents rather than trying to say what might have happened to your brother. Although it's not clear what happened, the things I talked about are common causes of automobile accidents and my intent was to only try and educate the public about safer driver habits.

    I'm truly sorry for causing you any grief and I hope you can accept my sincere apology.

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