Alcohol is believed to be a factor in two fatal vehicle crashes over the weekend.
On Saturday, around 7:48 p.m., an all-terrain vehicle rollover crash occurred on Old Highway 53 at Cranberry Road in the town of Gordon. The driver, 49-year-old Bonnie L. Fremling of South Range, was killed as a result of injuries sustained. She and her husband had been out driving their ATVs most of the day, according to a Douglas County Sheriff's Department report. The couple, on separate machines, traveled northbound on Old Highway 53 when Fremling's ATV made a sharp right turn and rolled down the road, throwing her into the ditch. The couple had just come from a Gordon bar, the report stated.
Fremling formerly managed and co-owned the dry Dock Bar and Restaurant and currently owns Bugsy's.
On Sunday around 7:03 a.m., there was a one-vehicle rollover on State Highway 105 and Mitchell Avenue in Oliver. Both the driver and passenger were ejected from the vehicle. The passenger, Jacqueline L. Chiles, 38, of Oliver, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, Caleb M. Hilliker, 28, of Oliver was transported to St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth with unknown injuries. He is currently listed in fair condition.
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It is unknown if either were wearing seat belts.
The two had been at a party at a friend's house, which broke up about 6 a.m. Sunday, according to a Douglas County Sheriff's Department report. The friend offered her room to the couple so they didn't have to drive home.
"When she got the call later in the morning that Jackie was dead, she had to go look in her room because she thought they were still there," according to the report.
