Judge Megan Stiverson was elected as district judge in November 2020.
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Hillsdale County District Judge Megan Stiverson sustained minor injuries in a Sept. 11 car accident.
After another vehicle hit Stiverson’s Chevrolet Suburban, her car rolled over. Hillsdale Deputy Chief of Fire Mark Hawkins said Stiverson was heading eastbound around the corner of West Carleton Road near the intersection with Lewis Street and was struck from the side.
The accident was a result of the drivers not seeing each other. City of Hillsdale Police Chief Scott Hephner explained that the combination of the angle, the corrective steering in the vehicle, and the slight incline of the road all made a rollover at that speed possible.
Stiverson and the other driver were both transported to the Hillsdale Hospital as a precautionary measure.
While Hephner is not sure of the exact injuries that Stiverson sustained, he said he did not think they were serious.
Litchfield Police Chief Daniel Roberts said he was on an errand to the courthouse when he heard about the accident on WCSR radio.
“I knew one state trooper was there, so I wanted to secure her, since she was in the other lane, until Hillsdale city officials could get there.”
Hawkins said that all of the usual emergency departments were on the scene.
“It’s rare for our department to have rollovers because the speeds are relatively low in the city limits,” Hawkins said.
The speed limit on West Carleton Road near Lewis Street is 40 mph.
First responders began to assess the situation after arriving on scene, according to Hephner.
“We had medical personnel on scene from our fire department and Reading Emergency Unit, which was the ambulance service taking care of her, talking to her through the vehicle,” Hephner said.
Hawkins said the other driver complained of wrist pain but was walking around. He also said that Stiverson expressed pain and was not walking around.
“Once we have enough medical people on scene dealing with the injured parties then we start investigating the crash,” Hawkins said.
Hephner said it was clear what happened during the accident.
“There was really nothing anomalous about this,” Hephner said. “A car came up Lewis Street to the stop sign, didn’t see the vehicle on W. Carleton Road, and pulled out and hit the side of it.”
Because of the extent of the accident, Hawkins said, the road was closed for 30 to 40 minutes as a safety precaution.
“When it’s on the main drives, we really try to at least clear one lane but being the extent of that accident, we shut them all down just to protect our guys and the EMS personnel that were out there,” Hawkins said. “I think she was extracted from the vehicle within probably eight to 10 minutes of being on scene. To clean up you have to get a tow truck there to upright the vehicle back, and some things just take a little bit of time.”
Hawkins said his department cared for Stiverson like they would any other citizen.
“Our motto is we treat every call like it’s our own family,” Hawkins said. “We give the best care that we can to everything.”
Stiverson was elected in November 2020 and took office Jan. 1, 2021. Stiverson previously served as the chief assistant prosecutor for Hillsdale County.