10/25/12 - Local authorities say toxicology reports confirm that a medical emergency was the cause of a head-on crash that killed three people on I-96 in Howell Township and seriously injured another. The August 12th crash happened near the Tanger Outlet Center when a pickup truck traveling eastbound on I-96 crossed the median into the westbound lanes near M-59 and then struck a sedan head-on in the center lane. The driver of the pickup, 54-year-old George Tissen of Fowlerville, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The freeway was shut down for hours after the crash while authorities from multiple agencies investigated. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte tells WHMI they were aware of a heart condition Tissen had before and suspected he suffered some sort of medical emergency based on witness statements at the scene. He says toxicology reports received this week confirmed that and showed no trace of any drugs, alcohol or prescriptions in Tissenâs blood system. 49-year-old Susan Bloomstine of Wyoming died from her injuries overnight at the University of Michigan Medical Center where she had been taken by Survival Flight. She was a backseat passenger in the sedan that was driven by her husband, 57-year-old Legrand Bloomstine, who was seriously injured. Also killed in the crash was 80-year-old George Wright of Wyoming, who was a front-seat passenger. (JM)
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