Crime & Safety

Icy Roads Lead to School Closures, Accidents

Hartland schools closed K-6 Friday due to slick conditions while Brighton delayed starting two hours; police report dozens of accidents.

Livingston County residents woke up to a March surprise early this morning: a thin sheet of ice covering roads, sidewalks, driveways and cars. The ice formed after an early morning drizzle froze over, causing accidents throughout the county.

Dicey conditions prompted the Hartland School District to call a closure of grades K-6 today at all elementary schools and Farms Intermediate School. In Howell, the district first delayed school for two hours and then canceled the entire day while in Brighton classes were delayed two hours.

in Hartland also closed its two locations until 11 a.m.

Find out what's happening in Brightonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to police, roads were slick all morning, taking many local drivers by surprise and causing numerous accidents on state and county roads.

Sergeant Mark Thompson of the Michigan State Police-Brighton Post estimated there were upward of 20 crashes between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Find out what's happening in Brightonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Most were property damage, with a couple minor injuries," Thompson said.

Mimi Yenshaw, administrative supervisor at Livingston County 911, reported more than 70 calls for service 4 a.m.-10 a.m. due to icy conditions on county roads.

Of those, one required extrication, seven required ambulance service, three resulted in minor injuries without ambulance service, and 57 resulted in property damage, Yenshaw said.

"Four were road run-offs only," Yenshaw said.

In Hartland, the call was made to cancel elementary school at about 7:20 a.m., after four buses became stuck and drivers reported "difficult" conditions, according to Paula Waters, administrative assistant for Hartland Superintendent Janet Sifferman.

A few local parents questioned the district's last-minute decision.

"We saw this 10 minutes prior to bus pickup, they were late making decision and getting the word out. I passed a neighbor who was waiting in her car at the bus stop on Bergin and advised her of the closing," Michael A. Rosinski posted on Hartland Patch's Facebook page.

Linda Rowland Bowen wondered if the district acted too soon in calling off school for the entire day.

"I don't understand why they could not have just had a two-hour delay, when the temps will be rising," she posted. "We're burning extra days now."

Other parents wondered if the closures didn't go far enough, since the high school and middle schools remain open.

"I think someone dropped the ball on the (high school and middle school) today," Marcia Krol Petersen posted on Hartland Patch's Facebook site. "They should have been closed as well, or at least the two-hour delay." 

"I hope all the HS and MS students made it safe to school," Kellie Wuokila McCarthy responded.

But Waters said the district didn't have time to close the schools for students in higher grades.

"We already had 18-19 buses on the road for our high school and middle school students," said Waters. "We don't want to leave students standing out at the bus stop."

Waters noted how Howell originally called a two-hour delay, then went back and closed schools altogether.

"We don't want parents making plans for one thing, and then running around making plans for another thing," Waters said. "We don't like to do that unless we absolutely have to, and we weren't sure the two-hour delay would cover it."

Waters said there were no bus accidents this morning, but four became stuck.

"Some of the north end dirt roads I think they are still very icy," Waters said. "We had to send out new buses and transfer the students, but everyone got to school safely and we are anticipating we will get them home safely as well."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.