Temperance teen killed in car crash

10/2/2010
BLADE STAFF

MONROE — A teenage girl from Temperance, Mich., was killed early Saturday morning after the car in which she was riding crashed into a ditch on Pointe Aux Peaux Road in Frenchtown Township, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department said.

Nicole R. Goldsmith, 17, was ejected from the vehicle's front passenger seat and later died from her injuries at Mercy Hospital in Monroe, deputies said.

The car's driver, Jesse J. Gill, 19, of Newport, Mich., and backseat passenger Autumn R. Eberhart, also of Newport, were uninjured.

Deputies said the car was westbound on Pointe Aux Peaux Road near Sycamore Street at 12:14 a.m. when for unknown reasons Mr. Gill lost control, exited the roadway, and crashed into a ditch.

The vehicle came to rest on its passenger side. Ms. Eberhart was sitting in the center of the rear seat, the department said.

Alcohol appears to be in a factor in the crash, and Mr. Gill was held in the Monroe County Jail pending the filing of criminal charges, deputies said.

The crash remains under investigation, and the sheriff's department asks that anyone with information call 734-240-7493.