Wife dies in traffic accident just days before
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OAKLAND COUNTY — The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public “to stay off the ice” after a Livonia man died after he and his 15-year-old grandson fell through the ice on Lake George in Addison Township on Dec. 26.
The grandfather, Scott Christopher Levitan, 66, was taken off life support on Dec. 31, the sheriff’s office confirmed.
Levitan fell through the ice as he was drilling a fishing hole, according to a sheriff’s office report.
His grandson, a Pennsylvania resident, called 911 and attempted to help his grandfather out of the water and fell through the ice himself.
A neighbor on the lake used a kayak to help the boy out of the water and keep Levitan’s head above water until help arrived. The neighbor was unable to remove Levitan from the water due to the ice continuing to break, according to the report.
“The temperatures have had such a large degree of fluctuation that we encourage the public to stay off the ice,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “There is no ice that could be considered safe at this time.”
Levitan’s death was the family’s second in less than a week. His wife, Mary Lou Levitan, 66, died in a traffic crash at 1:53 p.m. on Dec. 27 when another vehicle crossed the center line. Mary Lou was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
According to the sheriff’s office, a 19-year-old man from Oakland Township was driving a 2011 Ford Edge south of Rochester Road when he crossed the center line and collided with a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Investigators believe Mary Lou, a backseat passenger in a vehicle, was traveling to pick up her husband’s vehicle when the crash occurred at Rochester Road and Beach Drive in Oakland Township.
The 19-year-old was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition. A husband and wife, both 62, who were in the Jeep are listed in stable and critical condition, respectively.
The remains under investigation by the Oakland County Crash Reconstruction Unit. Authorities said that all the occupants of the vehicles were wearing seatbelts.
“Our prayers are with the family,” Bouchard said.