Cranbrook football coach dies in car crash

Ben Jones, Cranbrook Kingswood's head varsity football coach, was killed in a four-car car accident on Wednesday, August 19, on the 10 Mile service drive west of Woodward in Pleasant Ridge. Jones, 30, was a native of Muskegon, where he graduated from Muskegon Catholic Central and was part of two state championship football teams, and then played football at Hillsdale College. Jones was beginning his second year as the Cranbrook's head varsity football coach after serving as an assistant football coach for a few years. Last fall, he led the team to a 6-4 overall record, and their sixth straight Division 4 playoff appearance. Reports from Cranbrook are that he was very beloved by players, former players and other faculty. When he was not coaching football, Jones worked as an investment advisor for Schwartz & Co. in Bloomfield Hills. Jones is survived by his parents, Bruce and Theresa Jones of Muskegon, and younger sister and brother, Alissa and Nate Jones. According to reports, he was driving a Jeep Cherokee around dinner time on Wednesday when he was rear-ended by a Mercedes Benz driven by a 51-year-old woman from Huntington Woods. According to Pleasant Ridge police, she was arrested for operating while intoxicated. Jones' vehicle was pushed into a third car, which pushed into a fourth vehicle. Officers performed CPR on Jones after two bystanders pulled Jones out of his Jeep. He was transported to Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital, where he died. The crash is still under investigation.