- Kadie Price, 33, was in the crowd at a drag racing event on Sunday.
- The driver of a modified 1980 Jeep CJ lost control and went off the race track
- She struck a vehicle, which in turn struck Price as she was pushing her daughter to safety.
A Michigan mother heroically saved her two-year-old daughter’s life before she was killed by a runaway Jeep at a drag racing event.
The crash occurred Sunday in the sand dunes of Silver Lake State Park in western Oceana County, about 270 miles northwest of Detroit.
Kadie Price, 33, was in the crowd at a drag racing event taking place in the dunes with her family.
The driver of a modified 1980 Jeep CJ lost control, veered off the race track into the crowd and crashed into another vehicle, police said.
The other vehicle, which was stopped when it was hit, struck Price, but not before she pushed her daughter to safety.
Kadie Price (pictured center) heroically saved the life of her two-year-old daughter (pictured right) before she was killed by a runaway Jeep at a drag racing event.
The crash occurred Sunday in the sand dunes of Silver Lake State Park in western Oceana County, about 270 miles northwest of Detroit. In the photo: a race in the dunes in 2019.
Several people watching immediately tried to come to Price’s aid.
Silver Lake State Park rangers and staff approached her and attempted to provide first aid, but were unsuccessful.
The accident occurred around 11:37 a.m. Price was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Her daughter, however, was able to avoid serious injury or worse, according to police.
“Please keep the Price family in your prayers,” the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The driver of the Jeep that started the accident, a 64-year-old man, has been identified.
His name, however, is being withheld because an investigation is underway.
The 3,000-acre state park stretches along the shoreline of Lake Michigan and contains about 2,000 acres of sand dunes.
The accident occurred around 11:37 a.m. Price was pronounced dead shortly after. His daughter, however, was able to avoid serious injury or worse, according to police.
Her husband, Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Price, posted a photo of them together on his Facebook page Monday with just a heart emoji as the caption.
Silver Lake State Park rangers and staff approached her and attempted to provide first aid, but were unsuccessful. The 3,000-acre state park stretches along the shoreline of Lake Michigan and contains about 2,000 acres of sand dunes.
The dunes also offer significant space for those wishing to drive off-road recreational vehicles.
Two off-roaders participating in a drag race on Sunday described the horror of the accident and the stunned silence of those watching.
“I’ve been coming here for a long time,” Bryce Straubel said. WOOD. “That was probably one of the most brutal accidents I’ve ever seen.”
“It breaks me,” he added. ‘People come here to have a good time and this mother just lost her life. She… Pushed her daughter out of the way to save her; It’s hard to hear it. Really is.’
All-terrain drivers Bryce Straubel and Paul Stanczak went out for a run on Sunday and saw the aftermath of the accident. They said people watched in silence as first responders attended to the scene.
Things were back to normal in the dunes on Monday, when a smaller-than-expected crowd raced vehicles and motorcycles.
Price worked as an auto finance sales representative for Huntington National Bank.
Her husband, Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Price, posted a photo of them together on his Facebook page Monday with just a heart emoji as the caption.