UPDATE, 1/28/16: The two people killed in the accident are identified as Peter Ruokola, 81, and Karen Basto, 72. The driver of the van is Allen Basto, 70. He remains in stable condition at UPHS Marquette.
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ISHPEMING, MI-- Two people have been killed in a traffic accident in Ishpeming.
Wednesday shortly after 6 p.m. City Police responded to US-41 at Lakeshore Drive. They say an 81-year-old Ishpeming man was driving a Chevy passenger car and tried to turn off the highway onto Lakeshore from the left-turn lane. Witnesses say he turned into the path of a Chrysler van that was northbound and had the right of way.
The driver of the car was taken to UP Health System Bell, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the van, a 70-year-old Ishpeming man, was taken to UP Health System Marquette and is in stable condition. His passenger, his 72-year-old wife, was taken to UPHS Bell and transferred to Marquette, where she died of her injuries.
The names of those involved have not yet been released.
Assisting at the scene were the Michigan State Police, Marquette County Sheriff’s Department, Negaunee Police, Ishpeming Fire Department, and the Ishpeming Township Fire Department.
