Allegan County deputy arraigned for crash

On September 29, 2922, Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney Myrene Koch arraigned Thomas Goggins, 42, for a moving violation causing death and for a moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function. These charges stemmed from a review of the police reports and consultation with crash reconstruction investigators into the June 12, 2022 accident that injured driver Jose Nunez and killed his passenger Ofelia Nunez.
About 7:20pm on Sunday, Deputy Goggins was driving in Manlius Township near Fennville with his trainer. When they spotted a speeding vehicle, Goggins followed department protocol and sped up with no lights or siren engaged until the license of the speeding vehicle could be read. It is believed that at one point, Goggin’s cruiser was traveling at 90 mph.
Goggin’s attorney Michael Hills stated, “[Deputies] are taught to do this by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department. The training officer was right next to him, training him to do what he was doing.”
As the police cruiser approached 54th Street, Jose Nunez exited 54th Street in his GMC Arcadia. The impact of the cruiser and the Arcadia sent Jose and both of the officers to the hospital while killing Ofelia.
Sheriff Frank Baker shared that Goggins had been with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department for less that two months. Following the crash, Goggins resigned from the department.
Findings of the investigation left questions regarding whether the Arcadia may have rolled through the 54th Street stop sign. There was no dash camera on Goggin’s cruiser to record the pursuit or impact.
If found guilty, the punishment for causing death can be up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine, and the punishment for causing injury is up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.