Weather conditions a factor in fatal traffic accident

BATES TOWNSHIP — A 22-year-old man is dead after the vehicle he was riding in collided with a semi-truck Wednesday in Iron County.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police Iron Mountain Post responded to the accident at 1:00 p.m. CT on Bates Amasa Road near Paul Road in Bates Township. A passenger car driven by a 16-year-old Houghton resident failed to negotiate a curve, lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the center line and struck a semi-truck.

The driver was taken to Aspirus Hospital and was later airlifted to a hospital in Wisconsin, where he is listed in critical condition. A 22-year-old male passenger, also from Houghton, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second passenger, a 20-year-old Houghton man, was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Police believe that the icy snow covered roads were a factor in the accident. The driver of the semi-truck a 59-year-old Iron River man, was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation.