Officials implore public to drive safely in wake of “clearly preventable” semi truck crash that killed 3 reality TV stars

Officials in Tuscola County are asking the public to avoid “clearly preventable” crashes by driving safely in the wake of a semi truck crash that killed three people. 

The accident happened in Tuscola County, Michigan on Friday, September 26th. 

According to Fox News, eight members of the Putnam family, once featured on a TLC show, were riding inside of a Jeep heading east on Deckerville Road when a southbound semi truck failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into the car. 

Three people inside of the Jeep were pronounced dead at the scene. Five other passengers were taken to the hospital. The truck driver, 55-year-old Pavel B. Shchukin, and his passenger were also hurt in the accident and were taken to a nearby hospital. 

The Putnams confirmed that patriarch Bill “Papa” Putnam, his wife Barb “NeeNee,” and their daughter-in-law Megan were killed in the crash. Two of the five family members injured are reportedly in serious condition.  

The Putnams were featured on the TLC series “Meet the Putnams” in 2017. The show highlighted their unusual living arrangement, which included three generations living in a 6,000 square foot, six bedroom, two bathroom home. The series only aired for one season. 

Shchukin has been charged with three counts of moving violation causing death and five counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function. He is being held on a $100,000 cash or surety bond at the Tuscola County Jail.

“The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney and Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office implore everyone to reflect upon recent tragedies on our roadways and drive more carefully at all times,” Tuscola officials wrote in a statement following the crash. “Nine lives have been lost in Tuscola County in the last seven weeks due to traffic crashes. The consequences suffered by the families, friends and our communities are incalculable and irreversible. Each of the recent crashes was clearly preventable.”

“We are asking the public to please pay more attention when driving. We are having far too many crashes that are destroying people’s lives,” the Tuscola Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.