Charlotte man injured in I-69 collision has long recovery ahead, wife says

CHARLOTTE — A little more than a week after the SUV he was driving crossed the median on I-69 and collided with a semitruck headed in the opposite direction, John Green still can't recall the details of the crash.

Green was just minutes from their home in Charlotte on May 23, his wife Yolanda Collins-Green said, headed home from Lansing Community College that afternoon when the collision happened. He'd picked up information about summer classes for one of their seven children, son Jason, 17.

Collins-Green, who was at home gardening with the couple's daughter, Bianca Green-Galloway, checked his cellphone location hours later because he was late. By the time she drove out to the scene to try and find him, John Green, 53, had already been transported to Sparrow Hospital.

He sustained a traumatic brain injury, concussion, fractured ribs, broke both legs and has no memory of how it happened, Collins-Green said.

"Every day he wakes up and we have to tell him where he is even though we've gone through a full day of him knowing," she said.

The collision is still under investigation

Green's SUV was southbound when it crossed the median near the Vermontville Highway overpass at about 3:45 p.m., Michigan State Police said. The northbound semitruck it collided with landed in the ditch on the east side of the northbound lanes. The truck driver wasn't injured.

It's unclear why Green's vehicle crossed the median, State Police Lt. Rene Gonzalez said Thursday. Police are still interviewing witnesses and investigating the crash, he said.

They have talked with Green, but "due to his injuries, he's really not helpful at this time," Gonzalez said.

Witnesses "saw the truck flying up in mid-air and spinning and then going into the back of the trailer and then my husband being ejected from it," Collins-Green said.

She said police told her three people who were on the highway at the time of the collision stopped to assist Green in the moments after it happened.

"It was just God’s way of putting everybody where they needed to be," she said.

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A long recovery ahead

Green, who, in addition to his seven children, has 14 grandchildren, has a long recovery ahead of him, Collins-Green said.

"It’s going to be long and a very strenuous process for him," she said.

Doctors tell her he'll likely spend several more weeks at Sparrow Hospital, where he's already undergone two surgeries to repair the broken bones in his legs. Collins-Green said he'll likely be transferred to a rehabilitation facility for continued therapy.

She's hopeful that with time and support his memory will return.

"We just don't know," she said.

Green had been poised to return to work as a truck driver after recovering from a stroke in 2021 when the collision happened, his wife said.

Neither John nor Yolanda, who've been married for 32 years, is currently working, Collins-Green said.

A family friend started an online fundraiser to support them last week. So far, it's raised more than $3,700.

"It is, honestly, very comforting to know," Collins-Green said. Her husband would be grateful, too, she said.

"He’s a fighter he’s independent and he’s very proud," she said.

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .