100-Year-Old Drives Car Into Lake, Drowns

PIGEON, Mich. — A 100-year-old woman who lived alone collapsed at the wheel of her car, veered across the yard of her waterfront home and plunged off a 10-foot ledge into Lake Huron, dying before a neighbor discovered her.

Rhea Beatrice Shand was found inside her car Friday morning. She apparently suffered a heart attack before going into the lake, but the official cause of death was drowning, said John Champagne, a deputy medical examiner for Huron County.

The centenarian drove her car between her garage and a privacy wall, over some small bushes and across the lawn. She then drove off the ledge of the lake wall, dropping about 10 feet into the water, sheriff’s Deputy Tom Morneau said.