Three teenage girls died on their way to school Monday when the car they were riding in slid into oncoming traffic on a snowy Orion Township roadway.
Police say Barbara Felder, 39, was headed north on Joslyn Road when she lost control of her 2005 Toyota Camry and slid into the path of a 2002 GMC Sierra pick-up truck travelling in the southbound lane.
Felder’s daughter, Ashley Felder, 14, was the front seat passenger. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Sy’mone Analyse Nicole Johnson and Brianna Marie Latreese Johnson, 14-year-old twins, were riding in the backseat when the accident occurred.
Both girls were pronounced dead at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. The front seat passengers were wearing seatbelts, police said, but the girls in back were not. Brianna Johnson was ejected from the vehicle.
The GMC was operated by a 40-year-old Lake Orion resident, who was not injured during the accident, said deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Orion substation, noting the pick-up’s airbag did not deploy.
Orion deputies were first on the scene, and noted traffic was heavy and snow was falling when the crash occured near the Lake Sixteen access site, between Scripps Road and Clarkston Road, just before 7 a.m
All three victims were residents of Pontiac who were attending Oxford High School through the district’s Schools of Choice program.
In light of this tragedy, all afterschool activities, including sports practices and events, were cancelled for the high school.
The Oxford Board of Education meeting scheduled for that night was also cancelled.
School staff, counselors and social workers were made available to OHS students affected by the tragedy.
The driver of the Toyota, who is listed in stable condition, repeatedly asked about her daughter as she was prepared for transport to POH, deputies said.
‘It’s very tragic,? said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. ‘We’re all in our cars all the time, and we can become complacent on the road. But things happen very quickly when the weather changes and it’s important to remember you’re piloting what can quickly turn into a deadly missile. Slow down; that’s the big thing. Just slow down.?
The OCSO Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating the crash.
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