Police release new information on crash involving patrol car
MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — More information has been released regarding the accident last Friday night in Marquette Township that involved a Marquette County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Michigan State Police from the Negaunee Post say Deputy Brian Kurin of the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office was driving eastbound on US-41 while responding with lights and sirens activated to a call for backup to assist other officers at the scene of a traffic stop. Around 8:45 p.m., while driving through the red light at the intersection of US-41 and County Road HQ in front of Wal-Mart, Kurin’s patrol car crashed into a Ford Freestyle driven by Zhonetelle Tucker, 26, of Marquette.
Police say Tucker was crossing the intersection from Walmart to County Road HQ and had the right-of-way with a green traffic light. Immediately after the initial collision, the patrol car crashed into a Subaru driven by Christy Tuominen, 25, of Hibbing, Minnesota.
Both Tucker and one of Tuominen’s passengers — 24-year-old Celia Hintsala of Proctor, Minnesota — were transported by ambulance to UP Health System – Marquette. Kurin sought treatment for minor injuries at that same hospital. Tanja Mattonen, 22, also of Hibbing, who was another passenger in Tuominen’s vehicle, sought her own treatment for a minor injury. Tuominen was not injured in the crash.
Police say everyone was treated and released later that evening. Seat belts were properly worn at the time of the crash and airbags deployed in all three vehicles. The crash extensively damaged all of the vehicles, which had to be towed from the scene.
When the crash occurred, Deputy Kurin was heading to a traffic stop where another driver was stopped by a Sheriff’s Deputy after fleeing the scene of a car-pedestrian accident that occurred in Ishpeming. Troopers say the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department requested that the Michigan State Police investigate the crash. That investigation remains ongoing, with police undertaking advanced accident reconstruction.