Woman killed in car crash had just been named Michigan probation agent of year

One person who was killed Tuesday night in a Livingston County car crash that left five people dead and three others critically injured was returning home from a banquet where she had just been honored as the Michigan Department of Corrections Parole/Probation Agent of the Year. 

Candice Lynn Dunn, 35, worked as a probation agent in Oakland County.

“We are devastated by the loss of Agent Candice Dunn, whose passion for her work changed so many lives for the better,” Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said Wednesday. “Her ambition and her drive to make Michigan a better and safer place will leave a lasting impact on our department.”

Authorities said a vehicle heading south on Argentine Road apparently ran a stop sign at M-59, colliding with the car Dunn was in, which was eastbound on M-59. The crash occurred at about 10:30 p.m. 

Two other people in the car with Dunn — passengers Linda K. Hurley, 69, and Jerome Joseph Tortomasi, 73, both of Macomb County — also died, according to Michigan State Police. Corrections officials identified them as Dunn's mother and her mother's boyfriend. 

The driver, 39-year-old Albert Rudolph Boswell of Oakland County, is in critical condition. He is Dunn's boyfriend. 

The driver of the southbound vehicle, Matthew Jordan Carrier, 22, of Fenton and rear driver's side passenger Kyle Eugene Lixie, 23, are in critical condition, police said. Front passenger Justin Andrew-Humberto Henderson, 20, of Fenton and rear passenger Preston Taylor Wetzel, 24, of Fenton died. 

The crash in Oceola Township, east of Howell, left both vehicles in a field off the southeast corner of the intersection. The southbound vehicle caught fire; the other was left on its side. 

The speed limits approaching the intersection are 55 m.p.h., police Sgt. Robert Mossing said. 

"It's a tragic crash," he said. "We're still trying to sift through the details and figure out exactly what happened." 

Corrections officials said Dunn was returning home from the MDOC’s Employee Appreciation Banquet in East Lansing. She was honored for her dedication to helping those under her supervision succeed and her commitment to improving her community.

"Last night was such a celebration and today, we're just devastated," Corrections Department Spokesman Chris Gautz said this afternoon at a news conference in Pontiac.

Michigan State Police officials said in a news release that Dunn was from Oakland County. However, Corrections officials say she lived in Sterling Heights. 

Gautz said Dunn was well-known in the department and was remembered for organizing holiday food drives for needy families in the Pontiac area, where she worked. Grief counselors were at the office Wednesday to support colleagues who were just learning the news.

Corrections officials learned of her death early this morning from State Police. 

The people in the same vehicle as Dunn all had traveled to East Lansing for an awards banquet at the Kellogg Center where 430 people cheered as Dunn was named parole agent of the year. Dunn's sister and a close friend also attended, as did Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen, who presides over an urban drug court where Dunn supervised defendants. 

McMillen said she worked closely with Dunn and wanted to be there when she accepted the award.

"So richly deserved," McMillen said. "She was a rising star. She was remarkable. I'm just devastated."

McMillen sat at Dunn's table for the banquet and said Dunn's acceptance speech was one of the most eloquent she has ever heard.

"She was elated," McMillen said. "She's always humble. I hope that we all can carry on in a manner that would make her proud.

Dunn was named the department’s 2017 Agent of the Year last month. She said then that she felt humbled to receive the honor, corrections officials said. 

Dunn's 12-year career with the department included work with the Eastern District Probation Office, Troy Probation Office and as a Drug Court Agent in Wayne County.
In December 2015, Dunn joined the Oakland County Probation Office in Pontiac, where she oversaw the Urban Drug Court and Sobriety Court programs.

She also served as a trainer to her colleagues and a criminal justice instructor at South University in Novi.

Dunn would have turned 36 next weekend, Gautz said. 

Source: freep.com