In the flickering candlelight, friends came to console the family of 17-year-old Diana Pozderca, who died Friday in a head-on collision in Sterling Heights.
Sterling Heights police say Pozderca was traveling eastbound on Plumbrook Road near Plainview Drive before 9 p.m. when a silver SUV traveling westbound crossed into the eastbound lanes and collided head on with her vehicle. Warren Mayor Jim Fouts confirmed Saturday that an off-duty Warren firefighter was driving the SUV. The 42-year-old firefighter remains in the hospital. Pozderca was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Dylan Stallard, who rushed from the nearby church to the crash scene and extinguished the flames, said it was an image hard to forget. “It was just one of the most horrific things I’ve seen in my entire life. The cars were unrecognizable. It was just horrific,” Stallard said.
Pozderca’s father, Ion Pozderca, got the dreaded visit from Sterling Heights police around 9:20 p.m. Friday.
“My heart is broken. It’s a big hole still,” Pozderca said.
Diana Pozderca graduated this spring from Stevenson High School. She was attending Macomb Community College and her father said she wanted to become a physician’s assistant. She was supposed to watch the Michigan State football game with her brother in East Lansing Saturday.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with arrangements.
Sterling Heights police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. Any witnesses are asked to contact Sterling Heights police at 586-446-2801.
