HOWARD CITY, Mich. — Five individuals are recovering after a crash outside Dairy Bear, a popular local ice cream shop, prompting both the owner and a family member of one of the injured to urge drivers to slow down. The collision occurred on a warm Monday evening as the shop was filled with customers enjoying ice cream after the weekend reopening.
Around 7:40 p.m., a silver vehicle traveling south on Ensley Street attempted to turn into the Dairy Bear parking lot when it was struck by a fast-approaching pickup truck. The impact caused the silver car to crash into the shop’s sign, while the pickup truck spiraled toward the front of the business, striking two parked vehicles with people inside.
One of the injured was a 12-year-old girl, who was initially thought to have been struck by the truck. However, witnesses later clarified that she was hit by debris from a picnic table that the truck had collided with. She, along with four other individuals, was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Katy Hradsky, owner of Dairy Bear, described the scene as “chaotic and scary,” still processing the events. “I think I’m still in shock about the whole situation,” she said. “I can’t believe it happened the way that it happened. We literally just opened. It’s unreal.”
Hradsky’s husband spent the morning reinforcing the shop’s damaged structure, installing a new support beam to secure the sign, which had been tilted by the collision. The couple expects insurance adjusters to arrive in the coming days, and the shop reopened by Tuesday afternoon.
The crash has raised concerns about speeding in the area, particularly given the high volume of children who visit Dairy Bear after local sporting events. Hradsky expressed worry about the dangerous driving habits she often observes near her business, noting that drivers frequently exceed the 35-mph speed limit. “Something has to change,” Hradsky said. “As a parent, I don’t like when my kids are playing up front by the road. That makes me nervous.”
While Hradsky has considered installing barriers or fences, she acknowledges that these measures would likely be ineffective against large vehicles like the one involved in the crash. “A fence would not have stopped that truck,” she remarked.
Scott Holmes, a family member of one of the injured, echoed Hradsky’s concerns. His nephew and the nephew’s girlfriend were inside the silver car when the crash occurred. Holmes said his nephew was pinned in the vehicle for several minutes and suffered a concussion, a broken thumb, and a bruised leg. His nephew’s girlfriend sustained two neck fractures and had glass removed from her face. However, both are now out of the hospital and expected to recover without surgery.
Holmes, too, shared his frustration with speeding drivers, especially during the busy spring months when kids are frequently out playing sports. “It’s baseball season, it’s softball season, it’s soccer season, it’s spring. There’s kids everywhere. What’s the number one place people want to go after their games? They all go to get ice cream,” he said. “The moral of the story is we all need to slow down and take our time.”
The incident serves as a sobering reminder for the community to be more cautious while driving, particularly in areas where families and children are frequently present. Both Hradsky and Holmes hope that the crash will spark broader conversations about the need for increased safety measures on the roads surrounding Dairy Bear and similar local businesses.
