Woman killed in crash on icy road northeast of Grand Rapids

OAKFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Western Michigan authorities say a 56-year-old woman was killed when her Jeep crashed on an icy road as she tried to pass another vehicle.

The Kent County sheriff's department says the crash happened about 7:45 a.m. Sunday in Kent County's Oakfield Township. It's just west of Greenville and about 25 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

Police say that area resident Debbie Rauch was the only one in the Jeep Wrangler when left the road and struck a tree.

The death happened as temperatures pushed above freezing across much of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Following a long chill, the National Weather Service says that Sunday's temperature reached 45 degrees in the unincorporated Monroe County community of Lambertville and 44 degrees in Detroit.