The pothole on Pontiac Trail had been fixed last Friday and was repaired again hours after Tuesday's fatal crash. 
 
 Road commission officials said filling a pothole on Pontiac Trail was unrelated to Tuesday’s fatal accident. Investigators have not ruled it out as a possible cause of the accident as of Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: Hal Gould/Hometownlife.com) 
 
 Potholes have been the scourge of Michigan drivers in recent years, but this week, they may have turned deadly. 
 
 A sheriff's investigator said a pothole may have contributed to a crash Tuesday that killed a father and son in snowy conditions in western Oakland County. 
 
 It could be the most dramatic example in recent memory of the toll caused by Michigan's crumbling roads, an issue that legislators debated last year but on which they failed to take decisive action. Instead, they left it for voters to decide in May whether to boost the state's sales tax from 6% to 7% to raise an additional $1.2 billion a year for roads as well as more funding for schools, transit and local governments. 
 
 Investigators are trying to determine if the 2005 Mazda 3 driven by Pedro Montanez hit a large pothole on Pontiac Trail in Lyon Township, causing him to swerve into the oncoming lane. 
 
 "The investigation is not done, but the pothole could be a contributing factor," said Sgt. Mark Venus, commander of the sheriff's office Lyon Township substation. "When the investigation is done they will be able to tell if speed was a factor." 
 
 Montanez, 36, of New Hudson, and his son Steven Timothy Montanez, 9, were killed in the crash. Two of Montanez's other children were critically injured. 
 
 The pothole, a couple hundred feet from the collision, had been filled last Friday and was repaired again a few hours after the fatal crash, according to the Road Commission of Oakland County. 
 
 The pothole has been a constant problem, because it's in a low area where water gathers, said road commission spokesman Craig Bryson. He said the pothole was about an inch and a half deep, but he does not know how wide it was. 
 
 "We're trying to patch roads as best we can with limited funds," he said. 
 
 Bryson said he does not know what else could have been done, considering that the area had so recently been patched. He noted that at the time of the accident, road crews were out in salt trucks because of the weather. 
 
 "If the issue is potholes, this state is screwed because they're all over the place," Bryson said. "It's a terrible terrible tragedy. We really feel for the family, but potholes are all over the state and all over the county." 
 
 As if to emphasize the point, a hole opened up on the Rouge River Bridge of southbound I-75 today, requiring the closure of three southbound lanes for repairs during the evening rush hour. 
 
 It also would not be the first serious crash in metro Detroit to be linked to a pothole. 
 
 Just last year, Dearborn Heights police blamed a pothole for causing a crash that left a Redford Township motorcyclist in critical condition. The man, who was in his mid-60s, crashed after striking a pothole on Beech Daly in May. He was not wearing a helmet, but police said he was an experienced rider believed to be riding at the posted speed limit. 
 
 Wayne County officials said the pothole was caused by leaky water infrastructure in the area. 
 
 Montanez was driving his three children to school shortly after 8 a.m. when he lost control of the car on westbound Pontiac Trail, east of Silver Lake Road, crossed into oncoming traffic and was broadsided by a 1994 Ford Super Duty truck, according to Oakland County Sheriff's Office. The father and children were all trapped in the car and had to be extricated by firefighters. 
 
 Montanez was dead at the scene and Steven was pronounced dead at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. Another son, Michael, 10, was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon and his sister, Valencia, 6, was in serious condition, a hospital spokesperson said. 
 
 Everyone was wearing seat belts, and the girl was in a proper booster seat, according to the sheriff's office. The pickup was driven by a 25-year-old Farmington Hills resident, who tried to avoid the crash by going onto the shoulder of the road. 
 
 A GoFundMe page had raised more than $2,300 by Thursday morning to help the family with funeral expenses. 
 
 Robert Allen and Eric D. Lawrence are staff writers for the Detroit Free Press. Diane Gale Andreassi is a writer for the Hometown Life. Contact Robert Allen at rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1Jlo2JH ||||| Buy Photo Road commission officials said filling a pothole on Pontiac Trail was unrelated to the Jan. 20 fatal accident. (Photo: Hal Gould | Staff Photographer)Buy Photo 
 
 A fundraising account for the Montanez family has been set up through First Merit Bank in South Lyon. 
 
 Those wishing to make monetary donations for the family of a father and his son who died in a car accident Tuesday morning on their way to school can do so through this "Kent Lake Elementary PTO Montanez Family Fund" and checks can be given to the bank or staff at the elementary school. 
 
 A gofundme account set up by Diana Netherton, who knows the family through an area gym, captured $2,315 in donations as of Thursday morning. 
 
 The fundraisers are two of the ways the community is trying to mourn the death of Steven Timothy Montanez, 9, and his father, 36-year-old Pedro Montanez, of New Hudson. Montanez was traveling on icy roads on Pontiac Trail between Martindale and Silver Lake Road at about 8 a.m. on his way to taking his three children to Kent Lake Elementary School. 
 
 Montanez was dead at the scene and Steven was pronounced dead at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. Another son, Michael, 10, was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon and his sister, Valencia, 6, was in serious condition, a hospital spokesperson said. 
 
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 Meanwhile, some people pointed to a nearby pothole in the road as a possible cause of the crash on Pontiac Trail between Martindale and Silver Lake Road. 
 
 "The investigation is not done, but the pothole could be a contributing factor," said Oakland County Sheriff's Lyon substation commander Sgt. Mark Venus. "When the investigation is done they will be able to tell if speed was a factor." 
 
 The pothole — a couple hundred feet from the accident on Pontiac Trail – was repaired last Friday and repaired again a few hours after the accident, Craig Bryson, spokesman for the Road Commission for Oakland County, said. 
 
 The pothole has been a "constant" problem, because it's in a low area where water gathers, Bryson said. 
 
 Bryson said he hasn't received information that the pothole was a factor in causing the accident. An Oakland County Sheriff's crash reconstruction team hasn't completed an investigation report. 
 
 "It's another example of the long-standing (county road) funding problem," Bryson said. "We're trying to patch roads as best we can with limited funds." 
 
 The accident occurred after Montanez lost control of a 2005 Mazda 3 on the snow-covered roadway, went left of center and crossed into the oncoming lanes of Pontiac Trail into the path of a 1994 Ford Super Duty Truck pulling a landscaping trailer, police said. The truck was operated by a 25-year-old Farmington Hills resident who was not injured. 
 
 The Farmington Hills resident tried to avoid the Mazda 3 by running off the roadway to the right onto the shoulder. The Ford Super Duty broadsided the Mazda 3 on the passenger side of the vehicle. 
 
 The occupants of the Mazda 3 were extricated by Lyon Township Fire and transported to CS Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. 
 
 Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor. Montanez and his two sons were wearing seat belts and his daughter was in a proper booster seat. 
 
 dandreassi@hometownlife.com | 734-432-5974 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/south-lyon/2015/01/21/fundraiser-started-new-hudson-accident-family/22126165/ ||||| LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - The 7 Investigators have confirmed a big pothole on Pontiac Trail Road in Lyon Township may have been a factor in a crash that killed a father and his 9-year-old son Tuesday morning. 
 
 The crash was witnessed by another driver who has given a statement to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. He says that the car swerved either after hitting the pothole, or the driver swerved to avoid the pothole. 
 
 The car then crossed the center line and crashed into a Ford Super Duty truck traveling in the other direction. 
 
 “There’s one that’s very bad. The cement is crumbling away,” Nichole Smith said. 
 
 Smith says she drives the road every day to take her two kids to Kent Lake Elementary. 
 
 Pedro Montanez, 36, died at the scene. His son, 9-year-old Steven Montanez was pronounced dead at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. His 10-year-old brother Michael has reportedly taken a turn for the worse and is in ICU in the same hospital. Pedro's 6-year-old daughter was not seriously injured. The driver of the truck was not injured. 
 
 “All I saw was this smashed up car and a little girl’s backpack sitting on the trunk of the car,” Smith adds. “I started tearing up.” 
 
 The pothole is on the right side of the lane on westbound Pontiac Trail, west of Martindale. Montanez was taking his kids to school at 8 a.m. when the crash happened. 
 
 Craig Bryson with the Road Commission for Oakland County tells 7 Investigator Jim Kiertzner the potholes on that road have been a problem for years. They had a crew fill them in with cold patch last Friday and again after the crash on Tuesday after the cold patch did not hold. 
 
 Was this big pothole life and death? “Let’s put it into perspective,” Bryson said. Bryson says 20,000 cars drive that stretch of road daily and the cold patch does not stay in place. Bryson added, “and we have one crash. To jump to the conclusion that potholes are going to cause fatal crashes everywhere they occur, that’s not a logical conclusion.” 
 
 Craig Poet is with the Kent Lake Elementary PTO which is doing a fundraiser for the family. He showed 7 Investigator Jim Kiertzner the big pothole. 
 
 "When something like this happens it is heart-wrenching because it could be one of your own children," Poet said. 
 
 An account to help the family has been set up at First Merit Bank in South Lyon located at 419 S. Lafayette. You can donate money in their name at the bank. 
 
 Checks can be mailed to the Kent Lake Elementary PTO Montanez Family account. 
 
 The address is: 
 
 Kent Lake Elementary 
 
 30181 Kent Lake Rd 
 
 South Lyon MI 48178
– A pothole may be to blame for a fatal car accident in Michigan this week. Pedro Montanez, 36, was driving his three children to school Tuesday when his 2005 Mazda 3 swerved into the oncoming lane, spun on icy roads, and was broadsided by a pickup truck. Montanez and his 9-year-old son, Steven, were killed in the crash, which left another son, 10, and daughter, 6, in critical and serious condition, respectively, Hometown Life reports. A witness told police he saw Montanez either swerve after hitting a 1.5-inch-deep pothole, or swerve to avoid it, WXYZ reports. The pothole, a couple hundred feet from the crash site, had been filled Jan. 16, but it needed to be repaired again hours after the crash, reports the Detroit Free Press. "The investigation is not done, but the pothole could be a contributing factor," an Oakland County officer says. Police are also investigating if speed may have played a role. But "if the issue is potholes, this state is screwed because they're all over the place," a road commission rep says. He adds this particular pothole is a "constant" problem as it's in a low area where water gathers. "We're trying to patch roads as best we can with limited funds," he says. The Free Press notes legislators debated the state of Michigan's roads last year but chose to let voters decide in May whether to increase the state's sales tax to pay for fixes. Police add that a motorcyclist was left in critical condition after an accident involving a pothole in Michigan last year.