Fourth teen dies in Roseville wreck

Three Lake Shore High School  students were killed in a car crash Monday night in front of Macomb Mall in Roseville, police said, and a fourth died in a hospital this morning.

Authorities identified the four as: Erica Haudek, 15; Stephanie Currie, 16; Jordan Micalek, 16; and the driver of the car, Devon Spurlock, 19.

A 47-year-old woman who authorities say was drunk when her van struck the car carrying the four teens was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder.

Frances Patricia Dingle of Clinton Township was charged. Authorities said her blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Authorities  charged Dingle with four counts of second-degree murder and four counts of driving under the influence causing death. She was expected to be arraigned later Tuesday at St. John Macomb Hospital, where she was being treated for non-serious injuries sustained in the crash.

Dingle is under police guard at the hospital and will be housed in the county jail once she is released, police said.

Attorney James Simasko, who represented Dingle in a past divorce case and has spoken to her family since the crash, said Dingle had battled substance abuse in the past "but, according to the family, she's been sober for approximately three years but recently relapsed. So they're devastated and their hearts and prayers go out to the family members of the" victims.

Simasko said he hasn't spoken to Dingle and is not yet representing her in the criminal case.

Lake Shore Principal Michael Bowers, who has worked at the school since 1999, said grief counselors have been called to the school and are meeting with students.

Students at the high school were understandably somber Tuesday morning, with many sobbing openly as staff members tried to comfort them.

Jennifer Pierce, who said she had formerly dated Spurlock, said he was dating Haudek. All were to meet Monday night at Macomb Mall.

"I can't handle it," she said. "Erika was a wonderful person who was spunky, full of life."

Senior Ryan Mazmanian was taken home Tuesday morning by his mother. He said he couldn't concentrate on school, and wanted to go home to grieve.

"Devon was really nice, and helped out a lot of people with money," he said. .... Both girls were very, very nice."

The four teens — all students at Lake Shore High in St. Clair Shores — were stopped at a red light on southbound Gratiot at 8:15 p.m. when they were struck by a van driven by a woman traveling at a high rate of speed.

“We suspect alcohol and speed both were involved in what happened here,” Roseville Deputy Police Chief James Berlin said.

The woman who police said caused the collision had been drinking and also was hospitalized with serious but not life-threatening injuries, Berlin said. Once she recovers, the driver likely will face numerous felony charges.

Police were still on the scene early today conducting their investigation into the crash on Gratiot north of Masonic in front of the Red Robin and Burger King restaurants. All eight lanes of northbound and southbound Gratiot were closed for several blocks north of Masonic during the investigation.

According to Berlin, the impact of the collision forced the students’ Cavalier up onto the median, while the van rolled over several times, coming to rest in the northbound lanes of Gratiot.

One witness told reporters he saw the woman driving erratically on Gratiot near 15 Mile Road, about two miles from the accident site.

“She was out of control,” said Jeff Robinson, who was driving near the suspected drunken driver moments before the accident took place. “She was weaving in and out of traffic and then she just lost control.”

A walker fell out of the woman’s van and was left next to the vehicle but it wasn’t clear whether it was used by the driver or someone else as a walking aid.

L'Anse Creuse North High School Principal David Jackson called Lake Shore administrators and offered counseling help from his own staff.

"I know what they're going through," said Jackson, who experienced a similar tragedy a year ago when three of his students were killed in a wreck farther north on Gratiot Avenue.

Macomb Daily Staff Writer Gordon Wilczynski and The Associated Press contributed to this report.