Father Figure Arrested in Fatal Crash

CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — The father figure of a 3-year-old girl who was fatally struck Friday afternoon is facing criminal charges, the Kent County Sheriff's Office said Saturday morning.

Deputies said the driver, identified as a 33-year-old Cedar Springs man and the toddler's mother's fiancé, was "driving recklessly" when he hit the child with the pickup truck.

The Kent County Sheriff's Office initially reported on Saturday that the man was the child's father. However, authorities have since learned that the man is the fiancé of the child's mother.

The man was arrested and is being held at the Kent County Correctional Facility on a charge of reckless driving causing death. Investigators said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

The man is expected to be arraigned early next week, and KCSO said additional charges may be sought as the investigation continues.

Tragic Incident at Mobile Home Park

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday, KCSO received a call reporting that a 3-year-old had been hit by a pickup truck at Northland Estates, a mobile home park in Cedar Springs.

Crews arrived on scene quickly and began life-saving efforts. The child died from what KCSO described as severe injuries from the crash.

"Our thoughts are with the child's family, loved ones, and the community during this incredibly difficult time. Incidents involving children are especially difficult for everyone involved, and we also recognize the police, firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers who responded and worked this tragic scene," said KCSO in a release.

Neighbor Recalls Disturbing Scene

Lynn Dahlke has lived in the Northland Acres mobile home park for seven years. She says nothing like this has ever happened there before.

First responders flocked to Darcy Circle in the Northland Acres mobile home park just after 4 p.m. on Friday. The lights and sirens caught Dahlke's attention.

"They were all on that street, right across the street from me, and it's like, 'oh my gosh,' she remembered.

A three-year-old was hit by a pick-up truck.

"It broke my heart, because I saw that they were doing CPR on the little girl," she said. "They kept saying it didn't look good, didn't look good, and then I had seen that they covered her up, so I knew little thing didn't make it. So, it's sad."

That child was just one of many kids who played outside at Northland Acres.

"The other day, she was riding her little tricycle past me, you know. And seemed happy as can be," Dahlke said.

Sometimes Dahlke worries about the kids playing outside.

"I watch everybody," she said. "I watch everybody's kids, you know, if I see them playing on the road and I see a car coming, and they don't see it, it's like, oh, yell, you know, get out of the road. There's a car coming, and they usually listen, you know, and get out of the road."

The mobile home park has a posted speed limit of ten miles per hour and Dahlke said the park manager used to have a sign out warning people to go slow for the kids. But she says that hasn't stopped people from driving too fast.

She said "I'm just hoping maybe at some point, I know there's a lot of mobile home parks that have speed bumps now, and maybe at some point he'll put some speed bumps in and you know, that way, if people do come flying through here, then, you know that has to kind of deter them to slow down a little bit more. But like I said, you know, people just keep an eye on your kids so this doesn't happen."

Investigators are not yet releasing any information about the driver or how the three-year-old was hit. Kent County's investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact detectives at 616-632-6125 or submit a tip online at Kentcountymi.gov/tips.