50,000 bees hinder rescue attempt after fatal crash
ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI
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A man died after crashing his car into a bee infested abandoned house in Saginaw County.
The crash happened Wednesday afternoon as the driver was rounding a curve. When people tried to rescue him they were swarmed by bees and had to stay away.
(Saginaw County Sheriff Lt. Randy) Pfau said people nearby saw the crash and rushed to help the driver, but were driven back by swarms of bees, released when the car struck the home.
“The house, we’re being told, has not been occupied for many years,” he said. “There were just large swarms of bees within the home. It was so infested, they couldn’t get to him.”
Pfau said those attempting to help the man then attached a tow strap to the vehicle and pulled it away from the home as Tri-Township firefighters and Saginaw County Sheriff deputies rushed to the scene.
As many as 50,000 honeybees that swarmed out of a vacant St. Charles home disturbed by a car crash have been destroyed in an effort to keep them from hurting people.
“We would have liked to have saved them, but human life is more important than bees,” said Terry Klein, owner of T.M. Klein and Sons Honey in St. Charles.
Fire and police officers made a decision to destroy the bees by spraying them with foam, which kills the bees instantly, Klein said.
The Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department says 54-year-old Patrick Muirhead most likely died from a medical condition.
The St. Charles man was rounding a curve on West Spruce Street in the city Wednesday afternoon when he hit the abandoned house.
