Michigan Supreme Court: Manistee County can't be sued over road dust linked to teen's fatal crash

Family of Debra Hagerty-Kraemer said she was blinded by dust stirred up by passing vehicle, crashed into tree

Published On: Feb 07 2013 11:09:07 AM EST
Court gavel
COPEMISH, Mich. -

The state Supreme Court says a northern Michigan road agency can't be sued over the death of a teenager whose fatal crash was blamed on road dust.

The justices overturned a decision by the state appeals court and directed a judge to dismiss the case against the Manistee County Road Commission.

In 2010, Debra Hagerty-Kraemer was driving to perform at a Mesick High School graduation when she was killed. Her family says she was blinded by dust stirred up by a passing vehicle and smashed her car into a tree off Litzen Road, near Copemish.

The Supreme Court says a dust cloud rising from an unpaved road is not a defect that opens the door to a lawsuit against the road commission. The order was released Thursday.

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