Andy Dragovic filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of a 60-year-old wife, mother, and grandmother who was struck and killed while riding her bicycle on a Michigan road.
On the morning of September 16, 2025, just two days after the birth of her first grandchild, the decedent was lawfully riding her bicycle south on Lakeshore Road in Forester Township, Michigan. She was wearing a brightly colored pink shirt and a helmet and was fully visible on a flat, straight road with an unobstructed sightline extending nearly three-quarters of a mile.
A pickup truck traveling south on the same road struck the rear of her bicycle with enough force to demolish it and throw her body a considerable distance. She suffered severe external and internal blunt force trauma and died at the scene before emergency personnel could transport her to a hospital. The truck’s driver is the husband of the registered vehicle owner, who is also named as a defendant. Under Michigan’s Owner Liability Statute, a vehicle owner can be held responsible for injuries caused by a driver who operates the vehicle with their permission.
The circumstances surrounding the crash have raised serious concerns about the driver’s condition and attention. Investigators from the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office documented physical signs of impairment at the scene, and a blood draw and toxicology report supported those observations. The driver also gave inconsistent accounts of what happened. The traffic crash report noted a “Hazardous Action Failed to Yield” violation against the driver. The complaint alleges he was operating the truck while impaired by a prescribed medication (Pregabalin). Critically, the driver did not brake before striking the decedent, despite the clear weather, flat terrain, and nearly three-quarters of a mile of unobstructed road ahead.
Michigan law requires drivers to maintain a minimum three-foot passing distance when overtaking a bicyclist, to operate at speeds that allow stopping within the assured clear distance ahead, and to pay ordinary attention to the road. A driver exercising reasonable care on a clear day with a long, flat sightline should have no difficulty seeing a cyclist in a bright shirt well in advance. The complaint alleges the driver here did not.
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