Video captures harrowing high-speed crash that left teen critical

WYOMING, MI -- A 16-year-old Godfrey-Lee student suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash Sunday afternoon that sent a tire through a diner window, nearly injuring patrons.

Investigators believe the teen was speeding and “driving recklessly” around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26, when the Ford Mustang he was driving on Chicago Drive SW slid into the oncoming lane and struck a minivan, said Wyoming police Capt. James Maguffee.

The two occupants of the minivan are expected to survive their injuries, Maguffee said.

Security camera footage provided to MLive by ABC Motors, 1444 Chicago Drive SW, captured the high-speed crash and aftermath.

In the collision, a tire came off one of the vehicles and crashed through a window at New Beginnings Restaurant at 1506 Chicago Drive SW, Wyoming.

The impact sent glass shards flying throughout the diner and “miraculously” caused no serious injuries to those inside, Maguffee said.

Restaurant owner Doug Kacos said the tire smashed into one of the booths where people had been sitting just minutes before.

“People were petrified,” Kacos said.

Shards of glass flew from the window with such force that several of them lodged into a wall about 25 feet away, Kacos said.

On Monday, Kacos and others were vacuuming up the glass shards. The broken window is now covered by plywood. The damaged booth table was removed. A skid mark remains on the booth seat.

Kacos plans to have the restaurant open again for business Tuesday.

The teen was taken from the crash with life-threatening injuries, Maguffee said. The captain was unable to provide an updated condition Monday afternoon.

Maguffee said he did not know who the Ford Mustang belonged to and that the 16-year-old attends Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.

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