Two kids pulled from fiery SUV after crash kills their grandpa, Michigan cops say

Civilians rescued two kids out of a fiery SUV involved in a head-on crash, but the children’s grandfather was killed, Michigan cops say.

The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, in Kochville Township. Deputies were dispatched for reports of a head-on crash, and they found 51-year-old Ruben Maldonado unconscious in the driver’s seat of a GMC Acadia, the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office said.

Maldonado’s Acadia had crashed into a Jeep, driven by a 50-year-old woman, Undersheriff Miguel Gomez said.

First responders used a fire extinguisher in their attempts to put the fire out in the Acadia, but it became engulfed, according to the sheriff’s office.

Fire department officials arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire. Maldonado was given medical attention, but he died at the scene.

Deputies learned Maldonado was driving his two grandchildren, a 9-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. Both children were pulled out of the SUV by nearby citizens, the undersheriff said.

The 6-year-old boy is listed in stable condition at a local hospital, and the 9-year-old girl has been treated and released, according to the sheriff’s office.

The woman driving the Jeep was pinned in her vehicle and was removed by firefighters, Gomez said. She was taken to the hospital, where she is listed in critical but stable condition.

Sheriff officials did not state who may have been at fault in the crash.

“The Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the two citizens that stopped and gave assistance to the two children involved in the incident,” Gomez said.

Kochville Township is about 110 miles northwest of Detroit.