COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Michigan State Police are continuing to investigate a fatal collision on I-69 that claimed the life of a Branch County Road Commission employee.
MSP says they are waiting for toxicology blood test results before determining whether to make an arrest or file criminal charges against the semi-truck driver involved.
The incident occurred last Thursday, when a commercial semi-truck rear-ended a tractor mower operated by 46-year-old Casey Rice, who was cutting grass along the shoulder and median of the interstate.
Rice succumbed to his injuries two days later at a Kalamazoo hospital. Investigators strongly suspect drug impairment played a role in the crash. However, the driver was released from medical treatment without being detained while federal blood analysis is processed.
MSP Public Information Officer Lieutenant DuWayne Robinson said “We get the blood draw, we send it over to our labs, they’ll do an analysis, and then they’ll get the results back to us and then we’ll know whether or not drugs were indeed a factor”.
Robinson emphasized that delaying an arrest during complex vehicular investigations is standard procedure to build an ironclad case for prosecutors.
Robinson could not give a time frame for when the investigation may be completed
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