JACKSON, MI – The Jackson County commissioner who caused a six-car crash in January was fined for his involvement.
Commissioner Phil Duckham, R-Brooklyn, admitted responsibility for the crash before Jackson District Judge Michael Klaeren on July 15, court records show.
He was charged with careless driving and paid a $200 fine, records show.
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The charge stems from a crash that occurred around 8:10 a.m., Jan. 14 on southbound U.S. 127 near E. Michigan Avenue. Duckham allegedly rear-ended another vehicle, police said. Four more vehicles were then involved in the crash through a chain reaction, police said.
Duckham said he was distracted by what was happening with oncoming traffic. There was a two-car crash on northbound U.S. 127 around 7:45 a.m. that day, and police were still at that scene when the second crash happened.
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“I got distracted looking over there and ran into the back of a couple cars that had stopped,” Duckham said previously. “I didn’t see the four-ways or anything on. They were all sitting in the middle of the highway.”
A 63-year-old Jackson man was seriously injured in the initial crash and taken to Henry Ford Allegiance Health, police said. Everyone else in the second crash had either minor injuries or were uninjured, police said.
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