Traffic Light to Blame for Deadly Crash in Chesterfield Township?

DETROIT (WJBK) -- "We have to now plan a funeral for our son. No parent should ever, ever have to do that," said Karen Sherman.

Her eleven-year-old son, Kyle Halcomb, was badly hurt in a horrific crash Friday in Chesterfield Township. Sunday, his parents were forced to make the agonizing decision to take him off life support.

"This kid was the smartest, the most caring, the best kid you ever wanted to meet," said Billie Halcomb, Kyle's father.

"Kyle was the one, ten times a day for no reason would run up out of nowhere and just throw his around me and say, 'I love you mommie,'" Sherman said.

Sherman and Halcomb's three children were with their stepmother, Halcomb's wife, Jennifer. She had her two daughters in the car, as well. She was taking them to school after they missed the bus and thought she had a green light at 26 Mile and County Line Road.

"Coming through the intersection, all of a sudden it's red like instantly. No cycle of how it goes yellow and you have time to proceed through," Halcomb explained.

The county told us they checked their system and the lights were working properly, but the family is adamant that was not the case.

Our video shows one light was solid green the other was blinking red, but the Macomb County Department of Roads said the lights were working properly until the accident when the cars crashed into the control panel.

In fact, Halcomb said he and his oldest son were almost in an accident at that intersection two weeks ago. He and the other driver even yelled at each other.

"We exchanged words, and I said, 'Hey, what ... are you doing? The light's green.' He's like ... 'Buddy, my light's green.' And my son said, 'Dad, how can his light be green? Our light's green,'" Halcomb told us.

The family is hoping others who know of problems with that light will come forward. If there is indeed a problem, they don't want anyone else to suffer the way they are suffering.

"Nobody in the world should have to experience the pain that we have over this," said Halcomb.

One child remains at Children's Hospital, but is expected to recover. The other three have been released.

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