UPDATE – 11/31 at 11:23 a.m.: The victim has been identified as 66-year-old Katherine Lipka.
KALAMAZOO COUNTY (WKZO-AM) — A woman from Cooper Township is dead after her car missed a sharp curve on a sparsely populated Kalamazoo County road and the wreck was not immediately reported.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pauli Matyas said crash happened sometime Sunday morning at 9th street where it turns into GH Avenue in Oshtemo Township. The crash scene was discovered midmorning by someone walking along 9th Street.
“There is a 90-degree curve there, and they saw a body laying in a lawn, in the distance was a vehicle,” Matyas said.
Matyas said their investigation revealed that the victim’s Volvo was headed Northbound and penetrated a wooded area before it hit several trees and came to a stop. It could not be easily seen from the roadway.
He says despite her injuries the 67-year-old did not stay in the wreck.
“It looks as though she was able to get out of the vehicle and crawled out to a grassy area that’s mowed,” Matyas said.
Emergency medical technicians found no vital signs after they were dispatched and had a chance to assess her condition. From talking to residents in the area, Matyas says they believe the crash occurred at about 7 a.m.
Tests are being conducted and the investigation is underway to try and determine why she missed the curve. They also hope to interview people who know her who can tell them why she was in the area, and what she was doing immediately before the wreck.
Her name is being withheld until relatives are notified.
– Anthony Pollreisz contributed to this story.
