Falling tree struck vehicle in Attica Twp.
LAPEER COUNTY — A 36 year-old Lapeer woman died as the result of a storm-related injury this week.
According to the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office, Katelyn Furneaux was the passenger in a vehicle struck by a falling tree on Wednesday afternoon. Furneaux was injured by a branch that entered the vehicle. She was taken to McLaren Lapeer by ambulance where she later succumbed to her injuries, said Det./Sgt. Jason Parks.
The accident occured on Peppermill near Force Road in Attica Township sometime after 4 p.m. Parks noted that the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning and heavy rain, lightning and winds were experienced.
Parks said that Furneaux, her husband and son were westbound on Peppermill Road when a tree came down on the moving vehicle.
Emergency responders met the vehicle at Imlay City and Wilder roads in Lapeer Township from where Furneaux was transported to the hospital by Lapeer County EMS. Neither the victim’s husband or son were injured in the incident.
“Weather conditions and the tree falling into the roadway were the causation of this fatality. This incident remains under investigation by Lapeer County Sheriff’s deputies,” Parks said.
Furneaux was reportedly an employee of Lapeer County EMS.
“We, as an agency, work in life and death on a daily basis. Every time we experience loss it hurts. The loss of one of our own is a hurt of a truly different kind,” the agency said in a statement on their Facebook page.
“Our prayers go out to her family, her friends and her co-workers, some of which she called both family and friend.”
