Tajen Pannell, 14, and his twin sister were crossing East Tyler Road near Russell Road in Dalton Township, Michigan between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. on January 14, 2020. They were on their way to the Reeths-Puffer Middle School, where they are in eighth grade. Along with two other students, they were preparing to board a school bus that had stopped with its flashing caution lights on. The area is also a no-passing zone.

Matthew Dean Potter, 22, of Twin Lake pulled around to illegally pass the school bus when he struck them. Paramedics took Tajen and his sister to Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.

Tajen Pannell suffered a skull fracture and two broken legs and his sister had minor injuries. Her family has not released her name publicly, but they released Tajen’s so that people could pray for his recovery. The other children at the stop were not harmed.

When police arrested Potter 20 hours later, he admitted to being “blacked-out drunk.” He had been at a friend’s house partying before he got behind the wheel. Court documents list Potter’s address as being in the 6100 block of Russell Road, so it is likely he was driving home. Witnesses in the Blue Lake Township area reported that they saw Potter driving his SUV with a shattered windshield afterward, leaning out the window and driving through residents’ yards.

Potter has previously been charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident and driving with a suspended license. Now he is charged two felonies: leaving the scene of a serious personal injury accident and with driving under the influence causing serious injury. Both are felonies, each carrying a potential sentence of up to five years in jail.

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