Lansing,MI : Ithaca teacher killed in Gratiot County crash on Tuesday, December, 5th 2017

Ithaca school officials will have counselors available Wednesday as the district mourns a second-grade teacher who died in a car crash Tuesday.

Patty Edgar, a teacher at South Elementary School, left for a cup of coffee when it appears her car went off a road and hit a tree in Newark Township.

“We will not be discussing this information with students until tomorrow morning, in order to give parents the opportunity to share with their children tonight,” Superintendent Charmain Fletcher said in a voice message to parents Tuesday. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to Patty’s family, friends, coworkers students as we all grieve her loss.”

Fletcher was meeting with staff at South Elementary Tuesday afternoon and counseling is set to be available in the district Wednesday.

The fatal car crash was reported by a resident in Gratiot County’s Newark Township who looked out his window and saw Edgar’s car off the road in a wooded area.

That resident and a neighbor ran to the accident at around 8:30 a.m. and found the car severely damaged against a tree and the 57-year-old teacher unresponsive inside.

Police and first responders called to the scene on Hayes east of Alger freed Edgar from the car and administered CPR but were unsuccessful in resuscitating her, said Gratoit County Sheriff Doug Wright.

Edgar was last seen between 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. which indicates the crash happened just moments before witnesses saw the car in the woods, Wright said.

Edgar was not wearing a seat belt and the crash is still under investigation, Wright said.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by Perrinton Fire and Rescue and Mobile Medical response; Wright praised the intense work of first responders at the scene.

“I was on the scene, and I watched how hard they worked for over an hour to free her and administer CPR,” Wright said. “It’s a very said situation.”

Source :
Ithaca teacher killed in Gratiot County crash