Samantha Jo Bateson Obituary, Death – A tragic car crash in front of Mason County Eastern High School has claimed the life of 16-year-old Samantha Jo Bateson. Authorities confirmed her identity following the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, February 19, in the Village of Custer, east of Ludington.
The collision took place just before 11 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 10 and Main Street, also known as Custer Road, directly in front of the high school. Samantha, a student at the school, was driving at the time of the crash.
Emergency responders arrived quickly, including a Mason County sheriff’s deputy assigned as a school resource officer and a firefighter from the Free Soil/Meade Fire Department. Upon reaching the scene, the deputy recognized the young driver as Samantha. The deputy and firefighter worked desperately to administer life-saving measures, but she was later pronounced dead at Corewell Health Ludington Hospital.
Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole expressed his sorrow over the tragic loss. In a statement on Facebook, he acknowledged the devastating impact of the accident, both as a law enforcement official and as a father.
“As a father of young drivers, my heart breaks for the family of the young life lost,” Sheriff Cole wrote. “And, as the sheriff, I join our community in mourning for the MCE family.”
The accident has deeply affected the close-knit school community, which has approximately 350 students.
According to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, the preliminary investigation indicates that Samantha was driving north on Main Street when she came to a stop at the intersection’s stop sign. She then proceeded into the roadway, where her vehicle was struck on the driver’s side by an eastbound pickup truck traveling along U.S. 10.
The driver of the pickup, identified as a 33-year-old man from Custer, was uninjured. Samantha’s passenger, an 18-year-old classmate, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities have stated that neither speed nor alcohol appear to have played a role in the crash.
Initially, reports indicated that Samantha was 17, but officials later confirmed she was 16 years old.
The investigation into the circumstances of the crash is ongoing. The tragic loss of Samantha has left her family, friends, and the entire school community mourning a young life gone too soon.
