Traverse City Record-Eagle

Charlevoix County

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September 11, 2008

East Jordan girl, 12, killed in ATV crash

By SHERI McWHIRTER

EAST JORDAN -- An East Jordan eighth-grader died and another was seriously injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash.

Danielle Pawelski, 12, was killed in a four-wheeler crash around 8 p.m. Wednesday in Charlevoix County's Wilson Township. Her passenger, Tiffany Eplett-Walden, also 12, was airlifted by North Flight EMS to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and then taken to a Grand Rapids hospital, where she remains in serious condition.

The girls rode an adult-size four-wheeler in a driveway and hit a small tree before going over an embankment that was between eight and 10 feet tall, said Sheriff George Lasater.

Neither girl wore a helmet.

Danielle was pronounced dead by Charlevoix County Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Mitchell Carey. Autopsy results are pending.

Danielle was the daughter of David and Gail Pawelski of East Jordan. Her grandmother, Sue Stanbrough of East Jordan, said the girl's death is difficult to bear.

"I know she used to say she was 1 percent angel, 49 percent drama and 50 percent attitude," Stanbrough said. "She wrote that on her notebooks."

Danielle intended to try out for her school's basketball team this year, and was involved in programs at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Jordan. In past years she participated in Girl Scouts, first as a Brownie and then as a Junior Scout, Stanbrough said.

"She liked snowshoeing and she liked to go fishing with her dad. She got the only fish on a recent trip. She got one and he didn't," Stanbrough said.

Students at East Jordan Middle School spent time on Thursday writing messages about Danielle to be given to her family, and signed a large sheet of paper to be sent to Tiffany's hospital room, said Dianne Litzenburger, school district spokeswoman.

Seventh grade teacher Sean Ferguson described Danielle as "a fun-loving young lady who was loved by an enormous scope of people ... ."

The fatality is the second ATV wreck involving children in Charlevoix County in recent months.

Two-year-old Sutton Andrew Majeske of Port Huron was operating a child-sized four-wheeler in early May -- unbeknownst to his parents -- at a residence on Behling Road in Wilson Township when he went over a cellar embankment, lost control and crashed. The child wore a helmet, but sustained a severely broken jaw and cuts to his face, authorities said.

The incidents reinforce the need for proper safety measures, said Randy Danforth, co-owner of an ATV dealership in East Jordan.

"Safety precautions can help prevent serious injury or death," Danforth said.

Danielle's funeral arrangements are pending at Penzien Funeral Home in East Jordan. Call (231) 536-7031 for more information.

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