Name/Title
Washout 2008Entry/Object ID
2026.21.01Description
Color digital print of an overturned car and eroded clay soil after a deadly car accident caused by the failure of a section of Lakeshore Drive.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
Digital printSubject Person or Organization
Janik, Greg, Saugatuck Township Fire DistrictContext
On Sunday, June 8, 2008, after flash flooding washed out the culvert under a section of Lakeshore Drive overnight, two people delivering newspapers before dawn were killed when their car drove into the newly-formed 50-foot ravine. A temporary detour route over lawns covered in wood chips gave access to the handful of house stranded between the old and new Lakeshore Drive washouts.Collection
Transportation: highway and road infrastructure, Weather, extremeCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
2026.21Source or Donor
Wisniewski, ScottAcquisition Method
Donation, unconditionalLocation
Box
146 Weather and ClimateCreate Date
September 4, 2026Update Date
September 5, 2026
![Grand Rapids Press, 9 June 2008: Clarissa Green, 51, and her nephew Dean Taylor, 17, both of Grand Junction, were delivering The Grand Rapids Press early Sunday when their car plunged into a 50-foot ravine created by a flash flood that washed out Lakeshore Drive in Saugatuck Township.
[photo caption] Shocking sight: Crystal Cummins is comforted by her husband Jeremiah, right, while her brother, Jeff Williams, looks at the washed-out section of Lakeshore Drive south of Douglas that claimed the lives of her aunt and cousin. Clarissa Green, 51, and her nephew, 17 year-old Dean Taylor, both of Grand Junction, died early Sunday when their car fell into a ravine created by flash flooding.](https://d3f1jyudfg58oi.cloudfront.net/4124/image/0f0231b0-a853-11f1-8937-6fbd7d61953a-vugyV6W.tn@2x.jpg)
![Grand Rapids Press, 10 June 2008: ‘Such a subtle killer’
WATER’S DESTRUCTIVE POWER BUILDS SLOWLY, EXPLODES WITH DEADLY FORCE
Rescue struggle: Saugatuck Township Fire District personnel [pictured Scott Seymour, unknown, Erik Kirchert, Greg Janik, Mark Gargano] work to get into the car that fell into a ravine created by flash flooding. The rushing water washed out a section of Lakeshore Drive south of Douglas and claimed two lives.
Darkness, rushing water hampered search for car, recovery of bodies](https://d3f1jyudfg58oi.cloudfront.net/4124/image/117ad2d0-a853-11f1-8937-6fbd7d61953a-vugyW0E.tn@2x.jpg)