On Friday November 21, a crash occurred in Vienna Township of Michigan which left two area men dead early on Friday morning. The crash was undetected for many hours before the sun rose and their frozen bodies were discovered. None of the neighbors in the area had awoken to the sound of the crash.
Genesee County authorities have stated these two young people, 28-year-old Johnny Quackenbush and 27-year-old Brian Lee Schmitzer. The two young men were driving 90 miles an hour when they swerved off of the road and struck a tree which catapulted the both men and split the car in two. The two were heading eastbound on Frances Road just east of Elms Road when Johnny apparently lost control of his Pontiac Grand Prix, just missing a nearby house and crashing into the tree. Investigators estimate that the actual crash happened at approximately 4:30 a.m. Unfortunately, the accident was not called in until approximately three hours later. Neither occupant of the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt.
Police hold strong suspicions that alcohol was involved and are awaiting the results of toxicology tests. The crash was a surprise to neighbors who said they didn’t realize anything had happened until they walked out Friday morning and saw police cars.
“I heard a car racing overnight but I didn’t hear any crash,” said Robert Hubbard, who lives nearby. A woman in a house next to the crash site slept through it, officials said.
Friday’s crash is not the first time someone has been killed in the area.
A 90-year-old Ithaca woman was killed in October 2007 in a two-car crash a short distance away at Elms and Frances roads.
Still, neighbors said crashes in that area are rare in the winter months.
“We don’t get too many crashes this time of year,” said Leona Elasivich.
