Selfridge Orders Flag Half-Staff in Honor of Macomb County Airman

A 33-year-old New Baltimore police reserve officer and Selfridge airman died Sunday night from injuries sustained in a Chesterfield Township accident, police said Monday.

Patrick Wisniewski was driving his motorcycle around 9:30 p.m. on northbound Jefferson at 21 Mile when a 2008 Chevy Impala heading southbound on Jefferson turned left in front of him at the intersection. Wisniewski and the 64-year-old Chesterfield Township Impala driver were taken to MacLaren Macomb Hospital in Mount Clemens, where Wisniewski was pronounced dead, Chesterfield Township Police Sgt. Deron Myers stated in a news release.

The Chesterfield Township motorist, who was treated for non-life threatening injuries, was driving on a suspended license. Criminal charges are anticipated in this ongoing investigation. It's unknown at this time whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash. Wisniewski was wearing a helmet, Myers said.

Wisniewski had been a New Baltimore police reserve officer for the past two years. He was a military veteran who served 15 years with the United States Air Force Active Guard Reserve 127th Security Forces Squadron at the Selfridge ANG Base, where he was a staff sergeant, according to New Baltimore police.

Wisniewski had just left the base after completing his normal shift as a Security Forces Airman before the accident, Selfridge officials stated Monday.

“Our thoughts and prayers right now are with the family of Staff Sgt. Wisniewski,” Col. Michael Thomas, 127th Wing commander at Selfridge, said in a prepared statement. “The death of such a young man, who had found his calling in service to our nation, is a terrible loss. Our Security Forces Squadron is a tight family and this loss is beyond painful.”

Thomas ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff at Selfridge Monday in honor of the staff sergeant.

Wisniewski was a married father of five and New Baltimore resident.

When speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for New Baltimore police reserves in May 2011, Wisniewski said he was excited to help his community.

"I jumped at the opportunity," he told Patch.

He credited his wife, Jennifer, at the ceremony for supporting his decision to become a reservist as well as holding down the fort with five children through three deployments, including several months in Iraq.

The Macomb County Medical Examiner’s Office is scheduled to conduct an autopsy Monday. Funeral arrangements will be forthcoming. Gendernalik Funeral Home will be providing a schedule for visitations, New Baltimore police said.

A donations account for his family has been established, through Michigan’s Thin Blue Line at PNC Bank. Contributions may be dropped off at any PNC Bank branch, the New Baltimore Police Department or sent to Thin Blue Line at P.O. Box 415 Howell, MI 48844. They should be marked: ATTN: TBL/FBO Wisniewski Family.