Taylor Police: Teen on moped ran red light and fatally crashed into car

ALLEN PARK. Michigan (FOX 2) – At Allen Park High School’s home game against Redford Union on Friday night, the reunion was about more than football as a community came together.

Family and friends say Alan Rodgers, 16, a prominent Allen Park youth, died when his moped collided with a car in the area of ​​Ecorse and Telegraph in Taylor Thursday afternoon.

“When you have a child and I consider a 16-year-old to still be a child, it’s devastating,” said Taylor Police Chief John Blair. “It’s the impact on your family, your friends, your school.”

Blair says everyone is grieving, including the driver who survived.

“The other driver that was involved is shocked. His family is shocked and our law enforcement family is shocked,” Blair said. “A lot of us have kids and it’s hard to see and you can’t unsee what you’ve seen out there.”

Taylor investigators say the teen was riding his moped westbound on Ecorse and approaching an intersection when the driver of an eastbound car attempted to turn left onto the southbound Telegraph ramp.

“We have some witness statements that the light was red,” Blair said. “It seems that the moped tried to pass, he saw that the car was turning. He tried to abandon the bicycle or let it fall, leave it on the ground, but unfortunately he did not succeed and suffered fatal injuries.”

Chief Blair says the teen was not wearing a helmet at the time.

The news is still fresh for many and Rodgers’ classmates dressed in blue to support their team, all while processing the many lessons that would come from this.

“I always talk to people about riding motorcycles and wearing a helmet. I think that might have helped in this case,” Blair said. “To drivers, drivers, look twice. It’s easy to overlook motorcycles. We don’t want to make those mistakes.”