Police are investigating the collision at Van Dyke Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, an intersection officials say has drawn ongoing safety concerns.
STERLING HEIGHTS, MI — A 36-year-old North Branch man died at a hospital after the ambulance transporting him collided with a Jeep and overturned Sunday evening at Van Dyke Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights police said.
The Oct. 25 crash also injured an ambulance crew member and the Jeep driver. Investigators are still trying to determine how the vehicles entered the intersection, including the speeds involved and the traffic signal status at the time. Police have not publicly established whether the crash, the patient’s existing medical condition or another factor caused his death.
Police said the Aspire Rural Health System ambulance was traveling south on Van Dyke Avenue with its emergency lights and siren activated when it entered the intersection. A black 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling on Metropolitan Parkway struck the right side of the ambulance near its passenger compartment, according to the preliminary investigation.
The impact caused the ambulance to roll over before it came to rest upright. Two ambulance workers and the patient were inside. The crew member riding in the rear compartment was taken to a hospital with injuries described by police as moderate. The Jeep driver also was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The ambulance driver was not reported seriously injured.
The patient was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Authorities had not released his name as of Friday. Police also have not disclosed why the North Branch man was being transported, what his medical condition was before the collision or where the ambulance was taking him.
Sterling Heights police Lt. Lamar Kashat told WXYZ that investigators are examining several factors, including vehicle speeds, the traffic signals and witness information. He said the circumstances surrounding the patient’s death also remain part of the investigation. Police have said intoxication does not appear to have been a factor.
Kashat described Van Dyke Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, also known as 16 Mile Road, as a known problem intersection. He said the department has recently used several traffic-safety efforts in the area, including a Safe Road Task Force, a Traffic Calming Task Force and a Safe Streets Initiative. Police have not said whether any specific roadway condition contributed to Sunday’s collision.
The intersection has been the scene of other serious traffic incidents. In April, Sterling Heights police investigated a hit-and-run crash there in which authorities said a northbound vehicle turned into the path of an eastbound vehicle. No injuries were reported in that earlier collision. Police have not connected that crash to Sunday’s ambulance collision, but the incidents add context to officials’ broader concerns about traffic safety at the intersection.
The Traffic Safety Bureau continues to investigate the ambulance crash. Police are seeking witnesses or others with information and have not announced any citations or charges. No final determination about the cause of the collision or the circumstances of the patient’s death has been released.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.