pokagon

UPDATED-9-18-18

The two officers that were in the Pokagon Tribal Patrol Vehicle at the time of the crash are listed below:

DRIVER: Gustavo Pop-Monroy, 45 years old. He suffered a laceration to his left hand and a broken left forearm. He was treated and released late last night from Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph.

PASSENGER: Earl Holbrook, 35 years old. He suffered a head injury along with a partially severed left ear and appears to have a broken bone behind his ear. He will undergo surgery this afternoon to try and repair his ear. He is currently in stable condition at Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

The driver of the Lincoln passenger vehicle is listed below:

DRIVER: Sherry Lynn Temple, 69 years of age from Stevensville MI. She was pronounced dead at the scene based on the injuries she sustained.

Investigators have been able to confirm that the emergency lights and siren were
activated on the patrol vehicle prior to the crash occurring. They have also been able to
determine that the Lincoln passenger vehicle failed to stop at the intersection.
The crash remains under investigation.

(September 16, 2018) This afternoon at approximately 3:27 PM the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office along with several area police and fire agencies responded to a fatal car crash on M-140 at Territorial Road in Bainbridge Township.  The crash involved two vehicles, one being a Pokagon Tribal Police Department Ford Utility patrol car and the other a Lincoln passenger car.

The Pokagon Tribal Officers were southbound on M-140 responding code to a priority call of a domestic violence incident in Silver Creek Township when the driver of the Lincoln failed to yield at the stop sign while traveling westbound on Territorial Road.  The driver of the Lincoln was a 69 year old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.  The driver of the Pokagon Tribal Police car was transported by Pride Care Ambulance to Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph.  The passenger was transported from the scene by Memorial Med Flight to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana.  Evidence at the scene indicates that both Pokagon Tribal Officers and the driver of the Lincoln passenger car were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.  There is no evidence that weather conditions or any vision obstruction played a part in this crash.

The crash remains under investigation at this time and names of individuals involved will be released at a later time.  This is a tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of each of the victims.