A Michigan State officer has passed away after being struck by a car while conducting a traffic stop on I-75 Friday morning, according to Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge of Michigan.
The crash happened around 8:30 a.m. Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter was stopped on the side of I-75 northbound near Dix in Lincoln Park, conducting a traffic stop, when his patrol vehicle was struck by another motorist. MC Officer Kerstetter, 45 years of age, joined the MSP in January of 2023, graduating as a member of the 26th Motor Carrier Officer Recruit School on May 25, 2023. He was assigned to the Metro North Post. MC Officer Kerstetter was married and has three children.
Preliminary investigations and witness statements indicate that a Ford Explorer struck the median wall before continuing down the freeway and eventually striking the patrol vehicle, pushing it into the back of a semi-truck.
The MCO was seated in the vehicle with his seat belt on at the time of the crash, police said. Due to the impact, he had to be extracted from the vehicle using the jaws of life.
He was transported to DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
The female driver was also transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The semi-truck driver was uninjured.
