Police Identify 5 Victims Of US-23 Crash
Police have identified three Okemos High School graduates and two Ohio residents killed in Sunday's deadly head-on crash near Brighton.
Matthew Kolstoe, 18, and Heather Comstock, 19, both of Okemos, and Sarina Seger, 18, of Williamston, died Sunday in the crash on U.S. 23 in Livingston County, Green Oak Township Police Chief Robert Brookins said.
Another 18-year-old in the car was in critical condition.
The Toyota Prius in which they were riding crossed the median and slammed into an oncoming Chevrolet Blazer, killing two adults and injuring three children.
The victims in the SUV were identified as Cynthia Skutt, 62, and Alfred King, 56, of Fremont, Ohio.
Deputy Okemos Schools Superintendent Patty Trelstad said an emergency staff meeting was held early Monday at the high school. District officials told teachers about the crash and that counselors would be made available to staff and students.
Teachers shared the news with the 1,400-member student body. "Most of the faculty was OK,'' Trelstad said. "Some students asked, 'Why?' and 'How can this happen?'''
Trelstad said she didn't personally know the students in the Prius but was told good things about them. "They were great kids and close friends to one another,'' she said.
School officials were planning to contact the parents of the students who were killed to talk about ways the school could remember them, Trelstad said. "Okemos is a fairly close-knit community through the schools,'' she said.
The crash was still under investigation Monday. Why the Prius crossed the median remained unclear.
"We have a whole lot of reconstructing to go through," Chief Brooks said.
(Copyright, 2010. WWJ Newsradio 950/The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.)
