Michigan woman severely injured in Christmas Day crash on Bee Creek Road

A Michigan woman is recovering in a Lexington hospital today following a harrowing accident in Whitley County on Christmas Day that left her badly injured.

Authorities say 28-year-old Melissa Harden was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Bee Creek Road last Friday afternoon when the accident occurred. The driver of the vehicle, her 16-year-old brother Andrew McMillan of Mont Rose, Mich., was not seriously injured in the crash. Neither was Harden’s fiancé, 30-year-old James Grant.

According to an accident report, McMillion went off the shoulder of the roadway near Willow Lane and attempted to correct, but overcorrected and went across the road into a nearby wood line. The vehicle overturned. Harden was thrown from the vehicle and suffered severe internal injuries, and injuries to her pelvis. She was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington where she underwent four hours of surgery to treat her injuries. She was listed in stable condition as of press time Tuesday.

Neither speed nor alcohol or drugs appear to be a factor in the crash. None of the occupants of the vehicle were wearing a seat belt.

The speed limit on the roadway is 55 mph. Officials say the area where the accident occurred has a steep dip that has contributed to numerous accidents.

McMillan and Harden were in Whitley County visiting family for the holidays and were returning from the Laurel Branch Firing Range near Laurel Lake when the accident occurred.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy E.J. Miller investigated the accident.