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Washout 2008

Photograph
Color digital print of an overturned car and eroded clay soil after a deadly car accident caused by the failure of a section of Lakeshore Drive.
2026.21.01 Photo of the fatal 2008 washout on Lakeshore Drive
Grand Rapids Press, 9 June 2008; Clarissa Green, 51, and her nephew Dean Taylor, 17, both of Grand Junction, were delivering The Grand Rapids Press early Sunday when their car plunged into a 50-foot ravine created by a flash flood that washed out Lakeshore Drive in Saugatuck Township. [photo caption] Shocking sight: Crystal Cummins is comforted by her husband Jeremiah, right, while her brother, Jeff Williams, looks at the washed-out section of Lakeshore Drive south of Douglas that claimed the lives of her aunt and cousin. Clarissa Green, 51, and her nephew, 17 year-old Dean Taylor, both of Grand Junction, died early Sunday when their car fell into a ravine created by flash flooding. Grand Rapids Press, 10 June 2008; ‘Such a subtle killer’ WATER’S DESTRUCTIVE POWER BUILDS SLOWLY, EXPLODES WITH DEADLY FORCE Rescue struggle: Saugatuck Township Fire District personnel [pictured Scott Seymour, unknown, Erik Kirchert, Greg Janik, Mark Gargano] work to get into the car that fell into a ravine created by flash flooding. The rushing water washed out a section of Lakeshore Drive south of Douglas and claimed two lives. Darkness, rushing water hampered search for car, recovery of bodies

2026.21.01

Digital print

Janik, GregSaugatuck Township Fire District

On Sunday, June 8, 2008, after flash flooding washed out the culvert under a section of Lakeshore Drive overnight, two people delivering newspapers before dawn were killed when their car drove into the newly-formed 50-foot ravine. A temporary detour route over lawns covered in wood chips gave access to the handful of house stranded between the old and new Lakeshore Drive washouts.

Transportation: highway and road infrastructureWeather, extreme

Winthers, Sally

2026.21

Wisniewski, Scott

Donation, unconditional

4 in

6 in

146 Weather and Climate

09/04/2026

09/05/2026