Slush causes slide-offs

A slush-covered roadway is being blamed for two vehicles involved in separate accidents Friday afternoon in Cass County’s Newberg Township.

Sheriff Richard Behnke said the incidents occurred moments apart at 2:20 p.m. on Hoffman Road, east of Sodaman Road.

The first vehicle, a pickup driven by 18-year-old Vandalia resident Kaylee Thieme, was heading west on Hoffman when it slid off the road and rolled three times before coming to rest in a ditch. Leslie Thieme, 72, also of Vandalia, was a passenger in the pickup.

The driver of a Buick was driving west and it, too, left the road because of the slush and came to rest in a ditch.

Both occupants in the pickup were treated at Three Rivers Health. The driver of the Buick, whose name, age and community of residence were not included in the release, was not injured.