The Sturgeon Bay Police Department has released the name of the 65-year old man who died Thursday afternoon after the car he was driving plunged into the water near the Centerpointe Marina in Sturgeon Bay. Michael William Little of Kalamazoo, Michigan was pronounced dead at Ministry Door County Medical Center. He had been in the submerged vehicle for about an hour before divers were able to extricate him. His passenger, 54-year old Marcella Clark, also from Kalamazoo, and a dog were able to scramble out of the vehicle and make it to the dock located between Sturgeon Bay’s two downtown bridges. She was treated and released. Clark’s sailboat is located at Centerpointe Yacht Services. Witnesses say the vehicle slowly went off the dock and into the water, floated for a short time, then sank around 1:30PM. Efforts by the passenger to save Little, who was slumped over the steering wheel as the car traveled across the breakwall, proved unsuccessful. City police and fire crews, representatives of the Door County Sheriff’s Department, the State Patrol, emergency services and the US Coast Guard took part in the recovery operation. An autopsy has been scheduled and the fatal accident remains under investigation.
