Driver falls asleep at the wheel, car hits tree

A 20-year-old woman says she fell asleep while driving in Houghton County Saturday morning, causing a single vehicle accident that injured her passenger.

The accident happened around 8 a.m. Saturday morning on M-26 in Twin Lakes, near Parkside Lane.

The Houghton County Sheriff’s Department says the vehicle left the roadway and traveled about 150 feet in the ditch until it struck a tree.

A 22-year-old passenger suffered multiple injuries and was extricated from the vehicle using the Jaws of Life.  The passenger was transported to Portage Hospital in Hancock for treatment of injuries.

The driver was not injured in the accident.

Police say both airbags deployed, and the vehicle sustained extensive damage.

Mercy Ambulance, the Twin Lakes Fire Department, Adams Township First Responders, Hurontown Fire and Rescue and Troopers from the Calumet Post of the Michigan State Police assisted at the scene.