Sterling Heights Ambulance Rollover: Who Is Liable When a Patient Dies Under Michigan Law

By Koussan Law
Published October 27, 2026, 6:29 a.m. ET

Short answer: A patient died after the ambulance carrying him was struck by an SUV and rolled over at Van Dyke Avenue and Metro Parkway in Sterling Heights on October 25, 2026, according to police accounts reported by WDIV and WWJ. Under Michigan law, the patient's family looks first to no-fault benefits, and any lawsuit for the death turns on how each vehicle entered the intersection: an ambulance running lights and siren has limited privileges, other drivers must yield to it, and its driver must still drive with due regard for everyone's safety. If a claim were ever aimed at the ambulance operator, a separate emergency medical services immunity statute and an unsettled question about whether driving a patient counts as "treatment" would shape it. Police have not said how the crash happened, and the investigation is open.

What happened

Sterling Heights police were called at about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, to a crash at Van Dyke Avenue and Metro Parkway (16 Mile Road), WWJ reported. Police said an ambulance operated by Aspire Health System was southbound on Van Dyke with its emergency lights and siren activated when a black 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee struck the right side of the rear patient compartment. The ambulance rolled over and came to rest on its wheels, according to WWJ. The patient, a 36-year-old man from North Branch, died at a hospital. A crew member in the back was hospitalized with moderate injuries, the ambulance driver was not hurt, and the Jeep's driver was hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening. We are sorry for the loss his family is facing.

What we know so far

• The crash was reported at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Van Dyke Avenue and Metro Parkway (16 Mile Road) in Sterling Heights, according to police via WWJ Newsradio 950.
• The ambulance was operated by Aspire Health System and carried a two-person crew and one patient, according to WDIV and WWJ.
• Police said the ambulance was traveling south on Van Dyke with its emergency equipment activated (WDIV); WWJ reported emergency lights and siren were on.
• A black 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee struck the right side of the ambulance's rear compartment, police said (WDIV, WWJ).
• The ambulance rolled over and landed back on its wheels (WWJ).
• The patient, a 36-year-old North Branch man, died at the hospital (WDIV, WWJ).
• The crew member in the rear was hospitalized with moderate injuries; the ambulance driver was not hurt (WWJ) and was not taken to a hospital (WDIV).
• The Jeep's driver was hospitalized with injuries that are not considered life-threatening (WDIV, WWJ).
• Police said intoxication does not appear to be a factor (WDIV), and drunk or drugged driving is not suspected at this time (WWJ).
• The Sterling Heights Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau is investigating and has asked witnesses to come forward (WDIV, WWJ).

What has not been established

• How the crash happened, including which direction the Jeep was traveling, what the traffic signal showed to each driver, and the speed of either vehicle.
• Whether the Jeep's driver saw or heard the ambulance before entering the intersection.
• Where the ambulance was taking the patient, why he was being transported, and the medical cause of his death.
• Whether Aspire Health System is a private company, a nonprofit health system or a public body, which changes the rules that would govern any claim against it.
• Whether any citation will be issued or any charge sought. No lawsuit has been reported.

Who pays first: no-fault benefits for the patient's family and the injured crew member

Michigan's no-fault system pays medical bills and certain death benefits regardless of fault, and in an ambulance crash three different people are routed to three different insurers.

The patient

The default rule in MCL 500.3114(1) (section explorer) is that personal protection insurance (PIP) comes from the injured person's own policy, or a spouse's or resident relative's policy in the same household. A separate rule, subsection (2), says a passenger of "a motor vehicle operated in the business of transporting passengers" receives benefits "from the insurer of the motor vehicle," with listed exceptions for school buses, certain other buses, taxicabs and rideshare vehicles. Ambulances are not on that exception list, but whether an ambulance carrying a patient is a vehicle "operated in the business of transporting passengers" is a question we have not found answered by a published Michigan appellate decision, so the insurer that pays may be disputed at the start.

When a person dies, PIP provides survivor's loss benefits to dependents under MCL 500.3108 (section explorer) and a funeral and burial benefit of $1,750 to $5,000 under MCL 500.3107. Medical expenses incurred before death are allowable expenses under the same policy. Written notice of the claim is due within one year under MCL 500.3145.

The crew member

A worker hurt while riding in a vehicle "owned or registered by the employer" receives PIP "from the insurer of the furnished vehicle" under MCL 500.3114(3). Workers' compensation also applies to an on-the-job injury, and the employee generally cannot sue the employer in tort. A claim against an outside driver whose negligence contributed to the crash is preserved by MCL 418.827, with the workers' compensation carrier entitled to reimbursement from that recovery. Our page on third-party claims after a workplace injury covers how that works.

The Jeep's driver

The driver of the SUV looks to his or her own household no-fault policy for PIP, as in any other crash.

Does an ambulance running lights and siren have the right of way in Michigan?

It has limited privileges, and each driver has duties. Under MCL 257.603, the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle responding to an emergency call may "proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation," and may exceed speed limits only while not endangering life or property. Those exemptions apply only when the driver sounds an audible signal as reasonably necessary and the vehicle displays a flashing, oscillating or rotating red or blue light visible from 500 feet.

Other drivers have a matching duty. MCL 257.653 requires the driver of every other vehicle, when an authorized emergency vehicle approaches with a red or blue light and an audible siren, whistle or bell, to yield the right of way, pull to the right edge or curb clear of the intersection, and stop until it passes. The same section says that duty to yield does not relieve the emergency driver of the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of people using the highway.

Those two statutes frame almost every intersection collision with an ambulance. The questions that decide them are factual: whether the lights and siren were on and could be seen and heard from the SUV's position, what the signal showed each driver, how fast each vehicle was moving, and whether the ambulance slowed before entering the intersection. Police accounts so far say the ambulance's emergency equipment was activated. They do not say what the signal showed or how fast either vehicle was traveling.

Michigan compares fault rather than assigning it to one driver. Under MCL 600.2959, a person's damages are reduced by that person's own percentage of fault, and under MCL 500.3135(2)(b) a person more than 50 percent at fault recovers no noneconomic damages. A patient riding in the back of an ambulance has no role in how either vehicle was driven.

Could the ambulance operator face a claim, and does the EMS immunity statute apply?

Nothing reported so far points to the ambulance's driving, and this section describes the law, not this crash. If an investigation ever raised a question about how the ambulance entered the intersection, two different legal regimes could govern a claim against its operator.

The emergency medical services immunity question

MCL 333.20965(1) provides that, unless an act or omission is the result of "gross negligence or willful misconduct," the acts or omissions of emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and of the life support agency they work for, do not impose liability "in the treatment of a patient." Whether driving the patient counts as "treatment" is unsettled in Michigan. In Griffin v. Swartz Ambulance Service, a patient was hurt when the ambulance carrying him collided with another vehicle; the trial court applied the immunity and an unpublished Court of Appeals decision affirmed over a dissent. On September 11, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal after hearing oral argument, with Justice Zahra (joined by Justice Markman) and Justice Viviano dissenting from that denial and writing that the question deserved review (order and statements). Because the Court of Appeals decision was unpublished, it does not bind other courts, so the gross negligence standard would be argued, and contested, in any patient's claim against an ambulance operator over its driving.

If the operator is a public body

If the ambulance belonged to a city, county or public hospital authority, the motor vehicle exception to governmental immunity in MCL 691.1405 makes the agency liable for injury "resulting from the negligent operation" of a vehicle it owns, while individual employees are immune unless their conduct was gross negligence that is "the proximate cause" of the injury under MCL 691.1407(2). Reporting identifies the operator as Aspire Health System but does not say how it is organized. Our guide to whether you can sue after a police car or ambulance crash in Michigan walks through both regimes.

What a wrongful death claim can recover in Michigan

No-fault limits lawsuits against other drivers, but death meets the tort threshold in MCL 500.3135 (section explorer). The claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate under the wrongful death act, MCL 600.2922. Damages can include medical, hospital, funeral and burial expenses for which the estate is liable, conscious pain and suffering between the injury and death, loss of financial support, and loss of the society and companionship of the person who died. In 2024 the Michigan Supreme Court held in Daher v. Prime Healthcare Services-Garden City that the lost future earning capacity of the person who died is not recoverable. Economic losses above the PIP limits can also be claimed in tort under MCL 500.3135(3)(c).

A vehicle's owner is liable for its negligent operation by someone driving with the owner's consent under MCL 257.401 (section explorer), and an employer remains vicariously liable for an employee's driving under MCL 600.2956. Our Detroit wrongful death guide explains how the estate is opened and how any recovery is divided among family members.

What the public record shows

Van Dyke Avenue through Sterling Heights carries the M-53 state trunkline designation; the Michigan Highways reference site places M-53 on Van Dyke between 14 Mile and 17 Mile Roads in Sterling Heights and lists a memorial designation for M-53/Van Dyke between 16 Mile and 16 1/2 Mile Roads (Michigan Highways, M-53 listing, checked October 27, 2026). That matters for one reason: if a question were ever raised about the roadway or the signal at a state trunkline intersection, the claim would run against the State of Michigan, and claims against the state require a verified written notice filed with the Court of Claims within six months of the event under MCL 600.6431(4). Nothing reported suggests a road or signal problem here; the point is that the notice deadline would be counted in months, not years.

Evidence that matters and how fast it can disappear

• Traffic signal records. Signal timing and any logs for the Van Dyke and 16 Mile intersection would show what each approach displayed. A written preservation request to the road agency is the way to protect them.
• Ambulance data and video. Many ambulances carry vehicle data systems and cameras; any such data may be overwritten if it is not preserved.
• Dispatch records. Call records and radio traffic show whether the ambulance was on an emergency run, which is the condition for the privileges in MCL 257.603.
• Event data recorders. The Jeep and the ambulance may hold crash data recorders, and that data can be lost when a vehicle is repaired, salvaged or scrapped.
• Business and traffic cameras. Video from businesses near a busy intersection is often kept for days to weeks.
• The crew's records of the run, including the patient care report, which documents the timeline inside the ambulance.

Michigan courts may sanction a party that fails to preserve evidence before suit, and a jury may infer that missing evidence was unfavorable (Brenner v. Kolk, 226 Mich App 149), but there is no separate lawsuit against an outside party who loses evidence (Teel v. Meredith, 284 Mich App 660).

Who could be legally responsible

These are possibilities under Michigan law, not findings. Police have not said how the crash happened.

• The SUV's driver, if the investigation shows the driver failed to yield to an ambulance displaying its lights and siren as MCL 257.653 requires, or otherwise drove without reasonable care.
• The SUV's owner, if someone other than the owner was driving with consent (MCL 257.401).
• The ambulance operator, if the ambulance's operation fell short of the due regard both statutes require, subject to the EMS immunity argument for a patient's claim and to governmental immunity rules if the operator is a public body.
• A public road agency, only if evidence pointed to a defect in the road or signal, subject to the state notice rules above.

Michigan deadlines that apply

Our Michigan injury deadline calculator runs these dates from a crash date.

Questions people are asking

Do drivers have to yield to an ambulance with lights and siren in Michigan? Yes. MCL 257.653 requires other drivers to yield the right of way, pull to the right clear of the intersection and stop until the ambulance passes, when it approaches with a red or blue light and an audible signal. The ambulance driver still must drive with due regard for everyone's safety.

Can an ambulance go through a red light in Michigan? Only on an emergency call, with an audible signal and a flashing red or blue light, and only after slowing down as necessary for safe operation, under MCL 257.603. The privilege is conditional, not absolute.

If a patient dies in an ambulance crash, whose insurance pays the funeral and survivor benefits? Usually the patient's own household no-fault policy under MCL 500.3114(1). Whether the ambulance's insurer pays instead, under the rule for vehicles operated in the business of transporting passengers, is an open question for ambulances, and insurers may dispute it.

Is an ambulance company immune from lawsuits in Michigan? Not across the board. MCL 333.20965 limits liability "in the treatment of a patient" to gross negligence or willful misconduct, and whether that covers driving is unsettled after the Michigan Supreme Court declined to decide it in Griffin v. Swartz Ambulance Service in 2020. The statute's text is limited to acts or omissions in the treatment of a patient.

Can an injured paramedic or EMT sue the other driver? Yes, in addition to workers' compensation. MCL 418.827 preserves a claim against a third party whose negligence contributed to the injury, and the workers' compensation carrier is reimbursed from that recovery.

If you are dealing with a situation like this

When a family loses someone in a crash involving an ambulance, a delivery van, a truck or another work vehicle, the first questions are who owned the vehicle, which insurer pays first, whether any immunity statute applies, and which deadlines are already running. A free consultation can answer those questions and identify the evidence that should be preserved now. Call (313) 800-0000 or request a free consultation. Koussan Law handles wrongful death, commercial vehicle accident, government vehicle accident and no-fault PIP cases from offices in Detroit, Dearborn Heights and Marquette, in English, Spanish and Arabic. Our overview of who pays after a catastrophic commercial vehicle crash in Michigan explains how employer, fleet and agency insurance fit together.

Sources

1. WDIV ClickOnDetroit, "Patient dies at hospital after ambulance overturns in crash with Jeep in Sterling Heights," October 27, 2026, link
2. WWJ Newsradio 950, "Patient killed, two other hurt, when ambulance rolls over in Sterling Heights," October 26, 2026, link
3. Michigan Highways, "M-53," accessed October 27, 2026, link
4. Michigan Supreme Court, Griffin v. Swartz Ambulance Service, order denying leave to appeal, Docket No. 159205, September 11, 2020, link

Primary law cited: MCL 257.401; MCL 257.603; MCL 257.653; MCL 333.20965; MCL 418.827; MCL 500.3107; MCL 500.3108; MCL 500.3114; MCL 500.3135; MCL 500.3145; MCL 600.2922; MCL 600.2956; MCL 600.2959; MCL 600.5805; MCL 600.5852; MCL 600.6431; MCL 691.1405; MCL 691.1407; Daher v. Prime Healthcare Services-Garden City (Mich. July 30, 2024; Docket No. 165377); Brenner v. Kolk, 226 Mich App 149; Teel v. Meredith, 284 Mich App 660 (2009).