It was a wet Christmas for two Brandon Township residents.
According to Oakland County Sheriff’s Office reports, Independence Township deputies responded at about 9:29 a.m., Dec. 25, to the area of Pine Knob and Waldon roads for a full-size van a passerby spotted submerged in a retention pond adjacent to the DTE Music Theatre.
Independence Fire Department personnel also responded and entered the water, searching for vehicle occupants. None were found.
OCSO Sgt. Scott Howden, who led the investigation, said the vehicle registered to an address in Brandon Township and deputies located the driver there and also found wet clothes discarded on the floor. The driver returned to the scene and told deputies he was southbound on Pine Knob Road shortly before 2 a.m. when he was unable to negotiate the curve due to failure of his brakes. The van, which also had his cousin in the front passenger seat, traveled through a fence and into the pond. The driver and his cousin escaped through a rear window and walked approximately three miles home. The cousin was found uninjured at his home.
The 25-year-old driver was treated at the scene for minor lacerations to his face. He was issued citations for leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident.
‘Because the vehicle was abandoned, we initially didn’t know if someone was still in the car or had drowned,? said Howden, whose investigation quickly confirmed that the former occupants of the van were safe.
‘Slow down, especially at night? you don’t want to end up in the pond… If you do, don’t panic. Get the door open as quickly as possible, or if it won’t open, get the windows down and escape.?