Man charged in summer crash that killed his 2 daughters, friend

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A driver is facing multiple charges for a crash last summer during a thunderstorm that killed three passengers, including his two daughters.

Daniel Lee Heffron, 23, is charged with three counts of moving violation causing death. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The crash happened Aug. 24, 2023, on 18 Mile Road NE in Kent County’s Spencer Township.

Investigators say Heffron was heading eastbound on 18 Mile near Harvard Avenue when he lost control, crossed the center line and slammed into a westbound SUV.

The SUV driver “attempted to avoid the collision by veering to the right but struck the vehicle in the back-driver side before running off the road and striking a tree,” a deputy wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries.

“Witnesses that observed Daniel’s driving prior to the crash stated Daniel was driving at a high rate of speed,’’ records show. “One witness of the driving prior to the crash estimated the driving at 80 mph and stated Daniel was out of site (sic) ‘very quickly.'”

The deputy noted that the weather that night “had heavy rain with high winds.”

The crash killed front-seat passenger Karissah Marie Kleynenberg, 21, of Gowen. Two girls riding in the backseat, both strapped in car seats, also died. They were identified as Natalie Heffron, 1, and Juliana Heffron, 3.

Heffron had a pretrial conference Tuesday in 63rd District Court. Another court date is pending. Calls to Heffron’s attorney were not returned.

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