Police: Bartlett girl, 13, dies in Michigan crash

A 13-year-old Bartlett girl was killed Saturday in a single-vehicle rollover crash in Michigan, police said.

Rajvi Parikh died from injuries suffered when she was ejected from a 2002 Acura station wagon that crashed after its 43-year-old driver, also a Bartlett resident, swerved to avoid an object in the roadway, police said.

Michigan State Police trooper Don Dutcher said the object in the roadway may have been a seat cushion from a boat. He said it appears another vehicle hit the cushion and sent it flying onto the Acura’s windshield.

Investigators say the driver and his 38-year-old wife were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening. The names of the man and woman were not immediately available. Preliminary reports indicated they are Rajvi’s parents, but police later said they could not confirm that.

Michigan State Police Sgt. Lance Cook said the crash occurred about 12:09 p.m. Saturday on U.S. Highway 131 in Mecosta County’s Mecosta Township, about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids.

The vehicle was traveling in the left lane of the highway at the time of the crash, Dutcher said. It dropped off the edge of the pavement and overturned several times, he said.

Alcohol was likely not a factor in the crash, and whether the driver and passengers were wearing seat belts is still to be determined, Dutcher said. A prosecutor still needs to review the accident in case there are any criminal charges, but Dutcher said he does not anticipate any.

The crash remains under investigation.

Ÿ The Associated Press contributed to this report.