Left turn accident in Michigan

Mi wife got into accident when turning left on intersection with traffic light. Nobody's harmed. The cop gave her a ticket/responsibility, and it looks absolutely unfair.

It was winter day, road covered with slush, so no road markings are visible, undivided 55mph highway, one line each direction,than splits into 2 1/2 lines before the intersection: one line for left turn, and wider main line for straight or right turn.

My wife (1) entered intersection on green light and stopped to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.

The light turned yellow and the oncoming car approaching intersection stopped (4), with no turn lights blinking. My wife slowly continued to complete left turn, and at this moment ANOTHER car (2) from opposite line drove past stopped car (4) and hit my wife's car (right into rear right wheel).

My wife's car, infinity fx35, was traveling at slow speed and just rotated on slush and slid into track that was about to make right turn (3), just barely touching/denting it.

The oncoming (2), chevy cavalier, proceeded into ditch to it's left , taking some long distance to stop, like 100+ ft.

here is pic:


Car (4) wasn't technically involved and drove away while everybody else was checking for damages, no clue was which direction it went, no clue where exactly it stopped on the light - road covered with slush, no markings left.

So, it all happened on yellow light, everybody admit that. It was not the first second of the yellow light, it was more like the last second (or red). Because yellow light last there about 6 seconds, and it takes about that time to wait for oncoming car to stop and proceed slowly. But there is no way to prove it was red light.

The driver (3) said to me that car (2) "BLEW THE LIGHT". But it's not in the police report, as he had no way of knowing for sure (it would be still red for him), so cop didn't write it down. Nobody else but my wife remembers car (4). They don't deny it was there either.

The driver (2) says she saw the yellow light but proceeded anyway.

Cop give the ticket to my wife for failure to yield.

So I checked Michigan law, and (surprise-surprise) found two contradicting chapters, with no way for human being to understand the differences. I'll cite them at the end. One chapter basically says that left-turn car should yeld to oncoming traffic, another chapter says that car entering intersection on yellow light should get a ticket, and only exception is the car completing left turn... Yet cop chosen to do exactly opposite.

We went to court for Informal Hearing, and weren't able to change anything. Now we can do Formal Hearing, but my city isn't exactly mecca of traffic lawyers, so getting one will be expensive and difficult to find. So I'm kinda hoping for advise if it the case worth pursuing.

Chapter about who can go on what color of light:

MCL 257.612: ... (a) If the signal exhibits a green indication, vehicular traffic facing the signal may proceed straight through or turn right or left unless a sign at that place prohibits either turn. Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians and bicyclists lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent crosswalk at the time the signal is exhibited. (b) If the signal exhibits a steady yellow indication, vehicular traffic facing the signal shall stop before entering the nearest crosswalk at the intersection or at a limit line when marked, but if the stop cannot be made in safety, a vehicle may be driven cautiously through the intersection.

Corresponding explanations from official Michigan Police website:

Question: My husband just got a ticket for running a yellow light. How is that possible? I thought as long as you didn't speed up, you could go through a yellow. Answer: MCL 257.612 states in part, " ...vehicular traffic facing the signal shall stop before entering the nearest crosswalk at the intersection or at a limit line when marked, but if the stop cannot be made in safety, a vehicle may be driven cautiously through the intersection." The bottom line is, unless it is dangerous to stop, you must stop when the light turns yellow. The only exception is when you are preparing to make a left turn and you are already within the intersection. You can complete your left turn after oncoming traffic has stopped, even if the light turns red.

Right of way chapter, says car turning left should yield (and than go, and others should yield...).

MCL 357.650: 257.650 Right-of-way; turning left at intersection; violation as civil infraction. Sec. 650. (1) The driver of a vehicle within an intersection intending to turn to the left shall yield the right of way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard; but the driver, having so yielded and having given a signal when and as required by this chapter, may make the left turn and the drivers of all other vehicles approaching the intersection from the opposite direction shall yield the right of way to the vehicle making the left turn. At an intersection at which a traffic signal is located, a driver intending to make a left turn shall permit vehicles bound straight through in the opposite direction which are waiting a go signal to pass through the intersection before making the turn. (2) A person who violates this section is responsible for a civil infraction.