Mount Clemens

Men hit by car while helping turtle

By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer

Derek Redmond

Melissa Ulecki

MOUNT CLEMENS — Two people have been charged with a variety of crimes after their car slammed into two men that were on Jefferson Avenue in Harrison Township trying to help a snapping turtle cross the road.

“They stopped their vehicle … and the two of them were in the southbound lane … apparently trying to find a turtle,” said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel.

According to Hackel, at around 1:10 a.m. on June 19, police patrolling the area of Jefferson Avenue near Jack Street came upon a Dodge pickup truck stopped in the roadway with a boat and trailer attached.

Curious as to why the truck was in the road, police investigated further and found two men — both from Harrison Township, one 53 years old and the other 60 — lying nearby.

“When our officers were patrolling… they saw this car there, they saw the two men ... they realized that there must be some kind of accident,” said Hackel.

The sheriff added that one of the men was lying unconscious against the boat trailer and the other was on the gravel shoulder of the road. Both men, who were seriously injured, were transported to the Mount Clemens Regional Center via the Harrison Township Fire Department. The boat also appeared to be damaged.

Other officers were notified of the incident, and within a short amount of time, one of the deputies patrolling the Mount Clemens area noticed a car with damage consistent with a vehicle having been involved in a recent crash. The car, a red Dodge Avenger, was on Crocker Boulevard near First Street when the deputy pulled it over. Hackel said that the car had a broken windshield and damage to the front on both sides of the vehicle. 

Once stopped, the driver and passenger admitted to crashing into the boat. Derek James Redmond, 43, the driver of the vehicle, was found to be drunk and also driving on a revoked license. Moreover, he had an outstanding warrant out for driving while suspended.

Redmond was charged with operating while intoxicated, causing serious injury, his third offense; driving with a suspended license, his second offense; leaving the scene of injury accident; and possession of marijuana. The first charge is a five-year felony, the others are misdemeanors.

The passenger, 48-year-old Melissa Anne Ulecki, was charged with allowing an intoxicated person to operate her motor vehicle causing serious injury, a two-year felony.

One of the victims was Frederick Jasmund, a retired former captain with the Mount Clemens Fire Department who had worked there for more than 25 years.

Current Mount Clemens Fire Department Capt. Mark Percefull said that the department is hopeful Jasmund will make a full recovery.

“We were just all really saddened to hear about it. Everybody’s pulling for him and everybody is thinking of him,” he said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Sarah Cormier at scormier@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1095.