A road worker who lost his leg in a devastating work zone crash that killed his colleague returned home from the hospital Thursday.

Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report: Road worker returns home after losing leg in work zone crash that killed colleague

Robert Dinkins was working on Orchard Lake Road near 10 Mile Road on July 23 when an SUV barreled into the work site where he and two other Oakland County Road Commission workers were repairing a drainage basin.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Oakland County road commission worker killed, 2 more injured in crash Oakland County road commission worker killed, 2 more injured in crash

"I had my left leg amputated from below the knee, I had four breaks in my arm," Dinkins said.

The crash badly injured Dinkins and another worker. The third man, 43-year-old Cedric Jones, died from his injuries.

"Not at all, not at all," Dinkins said when asked if he ever thought something like this would happen.

Family members greeted Dinkins when he arrived home Thursday after his hospital stay.

"For him to be home, it's a great, great feeling," said Melvin Clark, Dinkins' cousin.

Clark, who previously worked for the Oakland County Road Commission before retiring, expressed his grief over the incident.

"I am really hurt that a fellow road commission worker lost his life, as well as the other road commission worker who lost, I think, a part of his leg also," Clark said.

Craig Bryson, a spokesperson with the Oakland County Road Commission, shared a message of support for the victims and their families.

"We know this is a challenging journey that they're on right now. We're doing everything we can to support them, and we just want them to know we're thinking of them," Bryson said.

As Dinkins faces his recovery, he has an important message for drivers who travel through work zones.

"Construction workers are only out there to make the roads better for everybody, so just slow down and give them a chance to get the roads fixed," Dinkins said.

The cause of the crash remains unclear. Farmington Hills police say the investigation is ongoing.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited Thomas Jefferson Elementary School to discuss the importance of free school meals with teachers while the state budget remains in limbo.

Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report: Governor Whitmer visits Wyandotte elementary school as budget battle continues

The governor's visit comes as free school lunch programs across the state hang in the balance if a budget agreement isn't reached soon.

"Hungry children is not a good thing, so feeding kids is a good thing, but what doesn't it mean for school?" Whitmer said.

Web Extra: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer reacts to House budget proposal

Michelle Johnson, a 5th-grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, emphasized the critical connection between nutrition and learning.

"They can't learn if you're hungry, you can't sleep, it's just such a basic need," Johnson said.

During Wednesday's visit, Whitmer sat down with Johnson and State Senator Darrin Camilleri to discuss how vital free meals are for student success.

"Let's say they haven't eaten yet, and they didn't make it for breakfast. Once they get something to eat, they perk up and they're engaged," Johnson said.

Parents in the community also expressed hope that the free meal programs will continue.

"And I also know there were free lunches in summertime that schools handed out. We don't do that, but I know kids who do," said Tracey Yarborough, a Wyandotte resident.

In February, the governor proposed a budget exceeding $83 billion that included funding for free school meals and free pre-K programs.

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled state House approved a different budget proposal of approximately $79 billion, which focuses more on cutting state spending.

PREVIOUS STORY: State school budgets still in limbo as classes begin State school budgets still in limbo as classes begin

"It's not a budget that is going to get signed into law, but they did their part, and now it's time for us to have serious and fast negotiations but also making sure we are continuing to feed our kids in school so kids don't go hungry," Whitmer said.

House Speaker Matt Hall defended the House's budget, saying it provides adequate funding to schools while giving districts autonomy over meal programs.

"They're not restricted on just doing free lunch, they could do free snacks, free dinner they could do all kinds of things," Hall said.

For educators like Johnson, the focus remains on meeting students' basic needs regardless of political decisions.

"In this district, we've done such a great job as districts do across the state, but if those things are taken, we figure it out because their needs have to be met," Johnson said.

The Governor, House, and Senate must approve a budget by October 1 to avoid a government shutdown.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Two Detroit police officers and another driver were injured in a crash on the city's east side on Saturday.

Were hearing the two officers and the other person are stable.

I heard the crash, it was a really loud impact, said Vanessa Bostic of Detroit.

Watch the video in the player below: 2 Detroit officers, 1 man injured in crash on east side

After hearing the crash that happened on Gratiot and Lappin around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Vanessa Bostic and her niece ran out of the store to see what was going on.

She says they pulled one of the officers out of the wrecked cruiser.

We shouldered him out, my niece helped shoulder him out, said Bostic.

Bostic says they also checked on the other officer and the driver in the black truck that was involved in the crash.

Police say there was a passenger in the truck who declined medical treatment.

Everyone involved in the crash has non-life-threatening injuries.

Most people would just call for help. What made you run over there? 7 News Detroit reporter Tiarra Braddock asked.

Its the police officers of Detroit, its my duty as a citizen to help our officers as well, said Bostic.

Police say the driver of the black truck ran the red light.

Bostic says speeding on Gratiot is a huge problem.

Its very busy, very busy, they like to drag race on this road, said Bostic.

Slow down, peoples lives are at stake. We just had another accident here on 7 Mile and Gratiot, we lost a little kid to that, so slow down.

Its unclear at this point if the driver in the black truck will face any charges.

Residents who live in Huron, Sumpter, and Van Buren Townships are fired up about a special tax assessment they say was sprung on them.

Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report: Residents in three Wayne County communities concerned over recent tax assessment

Even if I wanted to, I couldnt pay it right now, said Stephanie Moesby of Sumpter Township.

Moseby and her family have lived in Sumpter Township for 13 years.

She says on August 13th, she received a letter saying she had to pay more than $2,200 for a special tax assessment involving the North Branch Big Swan Creek Inter-county Drain.

The drain system primarily serves Wayne, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties, and it collects storm and wastewater to prevent flooding.

I feel like we have no choice, and we are already paying pretty high taxes around here. In our case, its five thousand dollars a year, said Moseby.

Residents can prepay the money, or the assessment will be spread over 20 years and added to a residents winter taxes with an unknown amount of interest.

For the residents being charged for the Swan Creek drain, I do not agree with that, said Katrina Burnham of Huron Township.

Burnham was sent an assessment of more than $900.

She says she wishes the county would have given residents at least six months' notice that the assessment would be coming.

That is a big, big problem, especially for our seniors in the community that are on a fixed income, said Burnham.

7 News Detroit reporter Tiarra Braddock reached out to Wayne County to learn about why they decided to send out the letters two weeks before the initial due date, and a spokesperson for the county told me the letters went out after several public hearings dating back to early July.

She was sent a statement also saying:

The North Branch Big Swan Creek Intercounty Drain is a multi-county maintenance and improvement project through Wayne, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties. It is managed by the Drainage Board, consisting of those counties and chaired by the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development. There is a legally required process of communication for this type of drain improvement project, which has been followed and managed by the Drainage Board. The request for work was initiated by a petition from multiple landowners, which was followed by several public hearings. Then a public day of review of apportionment was hosted on July 10, 2025, presenting assessment information for landowners. Notifications with assessment and prepayment details were sent after this meeting on August 13, 2025. Transparency in communication and the legal process are of the utmost concern to the Wayne County Drain Commissioner and continue to be a high priority for this intercounty project.

Were told there is no finalized start day for the drain project, but it could start as early as fall of this year.

The Metro Detroit Ukrainian community will be closely watching Monday's meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping for progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.

"This war needs to end," said Andriy Pereklita, assistant principal of the Ukrainian School of Language and Culture.

Pereklita, an Ann Arbor resident, says many of his Ukrainian friends and family are anxiously waiting to see what happens at the Washington meeting.

"What's going to happen tomorrow in Washington is going to be very tense, so I don't know what to think," Pereklita said.

The last time President Trump and President Zelenskyy met was in February; that meeting ended abruptly without a clear resolution after tensions ran high.

Various European leaders will join Monday's meeting with Zelenskyy and Trump, which Pereklita views as a positive development.

"That's a big step forward. Hopefully they will be able to placate President Trump a little bit and avoid the attack that happened in February," Pereklita said.

On Friday, President Trump held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Before that meeting, Trump had vowed to push Putin for an immediate ceasefire and warned of severe economic consequences if the Russian leader did not cooperate.

"Ukrainians have been apprehensive and then frustrated as of Friday at you know, President Trump shaking hands with a known war criminal and an indicted war criminal," Pereklita said.

When asked about the best-case scenario for Monday's meeting, Pereklita was clear about what he hopes to see.

"The best case scenario is that Mr. Trump actually agrees that this war needs to end and needs to end on terms that are necessary for Putin to stop the war, which means no land concessions sitting down after a ceasefire and actually hammering out what happens next, which means security guarantees for Ukraine that are iron clad," Pereklita said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Some residents in Howell spent the day cleaning up debris after Saturday afternoon's storm left a trail of destruction.

Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

"The storm came through and I heard this big, cracking sound and it sound like the tree hit the house," Mark Smet, a Howell resident, said.

While Smet's house was spared a direct hit, large branches were scattered across his front lawn.

"Went right across the front yard, had this one, one in the street here one across the street there," Smet said.

The historic Howell Opera House on West Grand River Avenue suffered damage when a window was blown out during the storm.

"I was really shocked because that window has been here for 100 years and it was shocking," Gayle Down, board member of the Livingston Art Council, said.

The Livingston Art Council is now accepting donations to repair the window.

"It was built in 1881, it's the one of the oldest buildings in town and it was originally the eagle it was used for high school graduations, dances and entertainment," Down said.

The storm also forced the cancellation the Howell Melon Festival, disappointing both attendees and local businesses.

"I feel kind of bad because all of these businesses prepared to have a huge turnout and now it's canceled so that's upsetting a little bit," Christy Wolschleger said.

In Brighton, a home reportedly caught fire after the storm. The Brighton Fire Department is investigating the cause of the blaze.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.