Man Under Medically Induced Coma After Crash On Grosse Ile Bridge

GROSSE ILE (WWJ) - A 47-year-old Trenton man remains hospitalized days after a head-on collision on the Grosse Ile free bridge.

Police say the man, whose name isn't being released, is under a medically induced coma at Oakwood Southshore Medical Center.

Trenton Police Sgt. Brad Petraska told The News Herald that doctors made the decision to put the man under due to brain swelling and pain from multiple broken bones. Petraska said doctors don't expect the man to suffer any permanently debilitating effects from his injuries.

Investigators believe a pre-existing medical condition caused the man to lose consciousness behind the wheel just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, which may have cause his foot to hit the accelerator as he drove across the narrow, metal-grate bridge.

The man, who was not wearing a seatbelt, crashed head-on into another vehicle driven by a 68-year-old Grosse Ile Township woman. The collision forced the man's car to jump the bridge's curb before eventually becoming lodged on the guardrail.

Both the man and the woman were taken to the hospital, where the woman was treated for minor injuries and released.

Several witnesses called the WWJ Newsroom, describing the horror of seeing a car dangling over the bridge railing above the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River. The bridge was closed for several hours while police investigated.

The Grosse Ile free bridge connects the south end of the island to the mainland near Trenton's Elizabeth Park.