GRAND RAPIDS, US — When friends learned Oswell Matyorauta was injured in a five-vehicle collision, they were stunned. They were even more shocked upon learning police believe the crash was precipitated by road rage between their friend and another driver.
“This would not be characteristic behavior of Ossie,” said Dalee Hermenitt, who has been friends with Matyorauta for six years. “He’s not an angry guy. He’s a social guy.”
Matyorauta, 35, of Kentwood, remained in critical condition with multiple injuries Saturday at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.
Police say the Zimbabwe immigrant was driving a 2004 GMC Envoy that was tailgating and speeding with another vehicle on M-6 in Byron Township about 6:30 a.m. Friday.
As they neared Burlingame Avenue SW, Matyorauta’s vehicle careened through the median and struck a semi-truck head on, triggering a pileup.
Police have not identified the driver of the other vehicle involved, a 1997 Dodge Ram. Police say he is a 42-year-old Kentwood man. The man drove from the scene, but later called police, telling them he did not realize there had been an accident.
Police will forward a report to the Kent County prosecutor’s office to consider charges.
Hermenitt said she met Matyorauta when he was the disc jockey at a heritage dance sponsored by the African Student Organization at Grand Rapids Community College, an organization in which Matyorauta was active during his student years.
“He loves playing his music at weddings and parties and a lot of friends,” she said. “He does ballroom dancing.”
About the same time, she also met him through a friend who was buying a used car. Matyorauta knew what to look for in a used vehicle and obtained a certificate to buy cars on behalf of friends at auto auctions, she said.
Matyorauta immigrated to the U.S. about 10 years ago to further his education and is pursuing an advanced degree through online courses, Hermenitt said.
Matyorauta is self-employed in an electrical business and worked over a three-state area, she said. http://www.mlive.com/
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