The woman, who was the mother of two children and the wife of a deputy sheriff, died in an accident in sand dunes

Susan Samples and Madalyn Buursma

2 hours ago

GOLDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) – The woman who died Sunday in the sand dunes of Silver Lake after heroically pulling her toddler to safety was a mother of two and the wife of a Kent County sheriff’s deputy.

Kadie L. Price, 33, was watching drag racing at Silver Lake State Park near Mears when a Jeep CJ spun out of control. Price was hit and killed.

News 8 has since learned that she is the wife of Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Price. The Kent County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment Monday, but it’s clear online that the agency is pulling together and doing everything it can to support Deputy Price and the couple’s two young children following Sunday’s devastating accident.

Off-roaders who witnessed the aftermath on Sunday described the scene as gruesome. Investigators say it happened when a Jeep driven by a 64-year-old man accelerated sharply, lost control and headed toward spectators, including the Price family.

Kadie Price was able to push her two-year-old daughter to safety before the Jeep rammed the Price family’s vehicle, which in turn hit the 33-year-old.

Despite life-saving measures, the mother of two died.

Off-roaders Bryce Straubel and Paul Stanczak were racing in a drag race on Sunday and saw the aftermath of the crash. They said people watched in silence while emergency crews arrived at the scene.

“I’ve been coming here for a long time,” said Straubel. “This was probably one of the worst accidents I’ve ever experienced.”

They told News 8 that people were much more alert after the accident. SUVs were back on the dunes on Monday, but the crowds were smaller on the cool and cloudy Memorial Day.

The pair said that while they take safety precautions such as wearing helmets and eye protection, off-road drivers cannot control everything when racing on sand.

“You can try, but there is no 100 percent guarantee that you can prevent everything,” said Straubel. “I had three accidents this weekend.”

“It happens, you can’t really control it. You can only do your best to prevent it,” Stanczak added.

Ace Krans, another off-roader and father of a two-year-old, learned about the situation on Facebook.

“It’s nerve-racking,” he said. “It’s scary just to think about it, but if you love it and it’s a passion, you have to do it anyway.”

Investigators have not yet released the identity of the 64-year-old man driving the out-of-control Jeep. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which operates Silver Lake State Park, referred questions to the Oceana County Sheriff’s Department, which is conducting the ongoing investigation.

“Please pray for the Price family,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release on Sunday.

“It breaks my heart,” Straubel said. “People come here to have fun, and this mother just lost her life. … She pushed her daughter out of the way to save her – it’s just hard to hear that. Really.”