By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


State Police at the Brighton post continue to investigate a head-on crash in which two Livingston County area men were fatally injured. The accident, which involved two pickup trucks, occurred Friday night on Faussett Road in Tyrone Township.

The victims have been identified as 38-year-old Michel Ryan Heidtman of Howell and 33-year-old Rodney Leonard Rukkila of Fenton. Police say that one of the pickup trucks crossed the center line on Faussett Road at 8:30 p.m. and struck the other pickup head on. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in one of the vehicles was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Police say that Rukkila did not have his seat belt on, while Heidtman was properly restrained in his seat belt. It has not been determined whether alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash. Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Hartland Deerfield Fire Dept. and Livingston County EMS.