Tree causes crash that killed driver, 23

An article by Angela Niemi    No Comments

White Lake Township firefighters work to free Kerry Benjamin Schultz from his vehicle after a tree fell on it while Schultz was traveling west- bound on Pontiac Lake Road west of Margie Drive and Fisk Road Saturday. (Photo submitted by White Lake Township Fire Chief Anthony J. Maltese)

A 23-year-old West Bloomfield Township man died from injuries he sustained after a tree fell on his vehicle in White Lake Township on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Kerry Benjamin Schultz was driving westbound on Pontiac Lake Road west of Margie Drive and west of Fisk Road on Saturday around 3 p.m. when witnesses say a tree fell on his car.

The tree fell on the driver’s side of the vehicle, an SUV, which then veered into a swampy ravine, according to White Lake Township Police Chief Ed Harris.

“It’s just a tragedy,” Harris said. “There is no way he could’ve avoided it. A witness saw him going westbound on Pontiac Lake Road when the tree fell. (Had he driven by) a second or two earlier, he would’ve cleared the tree. But the tree hit the roof of his car, and unfortunately he died from his injuries.”

Schultz had to be extricated from the vehicle by the White Lake Fire Department before being transported to Doctor’s Hospital in Pontiac.

He sustained injuries to his head and succumbed to the injuries on Sunday, Jan. 22.

“Our hearts go out to the family of the young man who was killed in that tragic accident,” Harris said.