Benefit Wednesday for two boys in crash
By Kayla Kiley
CADILLAC - Two young Cadillac boys were sent to the hospital with injuries after an accident that occurred in Marion on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Brothers 9-year-old Thomas and 8-year-old Skylar Miller, who attend Kenwood Elementary School in Cadillac, were riding as passengers with their grandmother, Carmoneta Romatz of Marion, who is in her mid-50s, when Romatz’s vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle just before noon at the intersection of M-115 and 20 Mile Road.
A friend of the family organized a spaghetti benefit dinner at the Bear Claw Brewery & Grill in Cadillac from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in order to raise money for the Miller family. There also will be a silent auction, including gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses, hunting and fishing equipment, a guided rabbit hunt, homemade knitted afghans and cakes.
Skylar is in ICU at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids while Thomas is at home on bed rest.
Parents Tom and Roo are currently not working in order to take care of their only children. Each day, one parent takes turns staying with Thomas in Cadillac while the other drives to Grand Rapids to be with Skylar; Skylar will be in the Devos hospital for at least a few more weeks.
Many people sustained injuries in the accident.
Skylar had to have 6 to 8 inches of his small intestine removed and repair work to his large intestine. He also fractured some vertebrae. He will have surgery on Thursday.
"Skylar’s in and out - he’s on morphine," Roo said. "He can talk to you. He tries to be in good spirits, but he’s in a lot of pain.
"Skylar is going to need back surgery, so he’s not going to come home anytime soon. He’ll have a long recovery," Roo continued.
Doctors are expecting Skylar to recover, according to Roo.
Thomas has a broken ankle and is at home on bed rest; he has surgery on Friday.
Romatz recently was moved from ICU at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City; she has to have surgery on her pelvis, knee, ankle and heel, according to Roo.
"I hope a lot of people come," said close family friend Randy Reed of Cadillac, who’s helping to organize the benefit. "Their kids mean everything to them, and for as long as they might not be working, it’s going to be tight for them."
The passenger of the other vehicle involved in the crash died as a result of the accident. The Osceola Sheriff’s Office is not yet releasing information about the other people involved in the accident because "the investigation is ongoing."
kkiley@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)
ABOUT THE BENEFIT
• What: Spaghetti benefit dinner and silent auction for the Miller brothers Skylar, 8, and Thomas, 9, of Cadillac. On Oct. 27, the boys were injured in a car accident. Skylar is in ICU at Devos Hospital in Grand Rapids; Thomas is at home on bed rest.
• When: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday
• Where: Bear Claw Brewery & Grill, 10559 W Watergate Road, Cadillac
• Information: Call Bear Claw at 779-7800
• Donate: Can be made at the Bear Claw or sent to the Miller family benefit fund at Chemical Bank
