By Tom Gilchrist
Staff Writer
CARO —Three Caro residents — including two in a Buick Rendezvous that flipped upside down — avoided serious injuries Monday by wearing seat belts, according to Caro Police Department Officer Ronald Suranye.
Tuscola County dispatchers said one person suffered minor injuries in a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon that saw a Buick Rendezvous flip upside down on Ellington Street in Caro. The collision involved a Chevrolet Corvette and the Rendezvous, and took place on M-24 south of M-81, according to dispatchers.
“Thank God (they wore them),” said Suranye, who investigated the two-vehicle crash about 5 p.m. Monday on Ellington Street (M-24) south of M-81.
Stephanie Keilitz, 26, of Caro drove the Rendezvous carrying her 5-year-old son, who was properly secured in a child-safety seat when the Rendezvous rolled on its top, according to Suranye. Keilitz and her son appeared unhurt but were transported to Bay Medical Center for examination, police said. The driver of the Corvette, 69-year-old Myron Freiburger of Caro, received minor injuries.
Police ticketed Freiburger in connection with the crash. Freiburger drove south on M-24, with Keilitz heading northbound on that road, at the time of the collision.
Freiburger “doesn’t know what happened but the Corvette hit a curb in front of Pat Curtis (Chevrolet Cadillac) and he lost control of the car and wound up going over into the oncoming lane of traffic,” Suranye said.
Keilitz “tried to avoid it by steering to the right a little bit, but the Corvette hit the front end of her driver’s side, by the headlight,” Suranye said.
The impact from the Corvette, combined with the fact Keilitz “kind of swerved to the right” prior to the crash, sent the Rendezvous upside down, Suranye said. Though the Rendezvous flipped on its top, “All of the people were out of their vehicles when I got there,” Suranye said.