GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The teenager accused of hitting and killing a tow truck driver has entered a new plea to the misdemeanor charge against him.

Payton Ferris pleaded no contest to a moving violation causing death. The 19-year-old was charged in the November 2023 death of Keagan Spencer.

Spencer, a tow truck driver from Hastings, had picked up a disabled vehicle and parked his truck in the emergency vehicle turn zone on M-6 just east of Broadmoor Avenue. The 25-year-old was in median trying to grab a dog who was walking freely on the highway.

That’s when Ferris lost control of his car, sliding into the median and hitting Spencer.

Fellow tow truck drivers honored Spencer one last walk and his family asked for increased protection through Michigan’s “Slow Down, Move Over” law.

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However, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said Ferris he could only be charged with a moving violation due to the circumstances where the tow truck was not on the side of the highway.

The 19-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on December 16.

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