(7-3-21) On July 3, 2021 at approximately 3:50 pm emergency personnel responded to a 911 call to Berrien County Public Safety Dispatch for a report of a vehicle crash involving an ATV and a pickup on Hipps Hollow Rd west of Evans Rd in Sodus Township.  Upon arrival, Deputies found an unresponsive female lying in the front yard of a residence.  The victim was pronounced deceased on scene.   The deceased ( The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin) was identified as a 23 year old female from Illinois.  Investigators were able to determine that an ATV driven by the victim was struck by a westbound Ford Pickup truck.   

Investigation showed that the driver of the ATV was leaving a residence travelling on a long 2 track dirt driveway with friends riding other ATV’s and dirt bikes and had to cross Hipps Hollow Rd to ride trails.  The victim was trailing a short distance behind the others and was trying to catch up and did not yield for oncoming traffic before crossing the road and pulled into the path of the Ford truck.   The driver of the truck, a 16 yr old male from Buchanan, Mi was not injured in the collision.  The victim was not wearing a helmet.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Traffic Crash unit responded to reconstruct the collision.  Alcohol and speed do not appear to be factors in this collision.