Spartan Stores driver is 'Grand Champion' again at Michigan Truck Driving Championship

BYRON TOWNSHIP -- In his 15-year career, truck driver Bob Grant has logged 1.4 million miles -- equal to circling the planet more than 56 times.
The more impressive accomplishment is every mile was accident-free.
"I've had one ticket -- and that was years ago and in a car," the Spartan Stores Inc. driver and Teamster Local 406 member said of his only driving blemish.
Instead, Grant, 39, collects awards for his driving. For the second time in four years, the Caledonia resident collected the "Grand Champion" award in the Michigan Truck Driving Championship.
He took first place in the five-axle truck category and won overall honors against drivers from seven other divisions in the competition last month in Lansing. Drivers, who must be accident-free for a year to enter the Michigan Trucking Association contest, are tested on driving maneuvers and undergo a written examination and a pre-trip inspection.
Ron Metternick, a FedEx National LTL driver from the company's Grand Rapids operation, earned first place in the Tank Truck class at the state competition. Metternick, 49, of Lowell, entered for the first time last year, placing 12th out of 34 drivers.
"My company manager talked me into it, and I thought I would give it a try," Metternick said.
Although experienced driving tankers, Metternick makes his living behind the wheel of a semi-truck delivering freight.
In his 29-year career, Metternick estimates he has covered 2 million miles without an accident.
Grant and Metternick will represent Michigan in the American Trucking Association Driving Nationals in Pittsburgh on Aug. 18-22. There, he will vie against 400 drivers from across the country for the title of "Truck Driving Champion of the Year."
The competition is known as the "Super Bowl of Safety," says Walt Heinritzi, executive director of the 500-member MTA.
"You are dealing with the best from each state," Heinritzi said.
In 2006, Grant finished in the middle of the national competition's pack, which he described as "100 times tougher" than the state version. He is better prepared this time, he believes.
"I have a few more years under my belt," Grant said. "I won't have the rookie jitters."
Grant has qualified for the state championship a half-dozen times since he began working for the Byron Township grocer in 1997.
In September, he will head to the International Food Distributors Association Truck Driving Championship in Orlando, Fla. He placed first in that competition's five-axle class in 2004.
The competitions can be nerve-wracking even for someone with Grant's record, but the rigorous process keeps his driving skills sharp, he believes. And that is helpful as he shares the road with more distracted drivers who are talking or texting on their cell phones.
"It would be great if everyone had to pass a course like this to get their license renewed," Grant said.

Source

Toxicology tests coming on 5 killed in Mich. car-train crash

DETROIT — Toxicology tests will be performed on all the young people killed in Thursday's train crash in Canton Township, Mich., outside of Detroit, with special attention to the driver, according to investigators.

Investigators are looking at all aspects of the crash, trying to determine what led Dan Broughton, 19, to drive around flashing lights and lowered gates at the Hannan Road crossing.

"You look at the pictures and five people's lives taken," Sgt. Mark Gajeski of the Canton Township Police said this morning. "A very poor decision made in an instant and that's how five people lost their lives."

Records from the Michigan Department of State, meantime, show Broughton had a number of traffic violations, including speeding and disobeying a stop sign in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park on Jan. 7. His failure to show a driver's license April 1 in Woodhaven led a judge to suspend his license for one month on June 17 — a suspension that began Wednesday.

Also killed were 14-year-old Jessica Sadler, who lived blocks from the accident; her boyfriend, 18-year-old Eddie Gross of Taylor; 19-year-old Sean Harris from the Detroit area, and his 21-year-old brother, Terrence Harris of Stafford, Va. Broughton's car was registered in Woodhaven, but he had ties to the Taylor area, Gajeski said.

Albert Samuels, chief investigator for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office, said preliminary toxicology screenings may be available as soon as today, but definitive test results could take as long as six to 12 weeks. He said all five of the young people will undergo testing, with focus on the driver.

All of the teens' families are expected at the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office today for a final identification, he said.

Source

MICHIGAN: 5 killed in train crash

Police look over the scene Thursday near Detroit where an Amtrak train bound for Chicago struck a car that had apparently skirted a gate at a road crossing, killing all five people in the vehicle. The victims were all young people. No one on the train, which was carrying about 170 passengers, was injured in the accident in Canton Township, about 20 miles west of Detroit.

Source

Driver in Michigan crash had lost license

DETROIT, July 10 (UPI) -- The 19-year-old driver of a car struck by a train in Michigan, killing five people, had had his driver's license suspended repeatedly, authorities say.
The Detroit News said Friday that police had suspended Dan Broughton's driver's license three times since January, including a suspension that began the day before Thursday's accident. The suspensions were in relation to a number of traffic violations ranging from disobeying a stop sign to speeding.
Broughton was driving the black Ford Fusion that witnesses said was struck by an oncoming Amtrak passenger train as the car drove around a lowered railroad crossing gate Thursday afternoon, the News said.
Broughton was killed in the collision in Canton Township, Mich., along with 14-year-old Jessica Sadler; Sadler's 18-year-old boyfriend, Eddie Gross; Terrance Harris, 21; and brother Sean Harris, 18.
The most recent license suspension against Broughton began Wednesday, the Detroit News said.
"The issue is the driver is responsible for the people in his car," Gerald Gaines, Jessica Sadler's grandfather, said. "This driver took four lives plus his own. This should never have happened."


Source