On Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, first responders were dispatched to Fork Township for a fatal car crash.

The wreck occurred sometime before 4:54 p.m. near 30th Avenue (M-66) and Evergreen Road near Merrill Lake.

According to deputies, a 37-year-old man from Clare County was found dead inside his vehicle. It is believed that his white Chevrolet Impala was traveling northbound on M-66 and went off the roadway.

“The vehicle traveled down an embankment and through a wooded area before coming to rest in a cornfield on the east side of the roadway,” Mecosta County sheriff’s deputies said. “The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The cause of the crash is unknown at this time and currently under investigation.”

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Deputy Disu at 231-592-0150.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by Fork Township Fire/Rescue, Barryton Fire, Mecosta County Emergency Medical Services, Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner’s Group, Daggett Funeral Home, Hilltop Towing and Meceola Central Dispatch.

_{Release information courtesy of Mecosta County Sheriff's Office.}