By B.J. REYES
Associated Press Writer

Rescue workers search the wreckage (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Joe Mihelich wanted to get home to his wife and their 19-month-old son. So he ignored his wife's advice to wait for a commuter flight from Cincinnati, rented a car and drove home Thursday in heavy snow to suburban Detroit.

As he drove through Toledo, Ohio, Mihelich heard news that the flight he could have boarded had crashed in rural in southeast Michigan, about 15 miles north of where he was. All 29 people aboard are believed dead.

''Wow, that was bloody close,'' Mihelich remembers thinking to himself. ''That was too close for comfort.

''I feel very fortunate,'' he said from his West Bloomfield, Mich., home late Thursday. ''I think someone's looking down on me and there's a little bit of luck involved.

''It's a tragedy, and I feel for all the families,'' he said.

Mihelich, 29, a plastics salesman, said his original flight from Cincinnati to Detroit was canceled because of the bad weather in Detroit.

A ticket agent in Cincinnati said there was a seat available on Comair Flight 3272. That plane later crashed in Monroe County, Mich., about 18 miles from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, shortly before dusk.

''I think we're both kind of in shock,'' said Mihelich's wife, Shefali.

''When you come so close and get a scare like this, it really makes you value everything in life,'' she said.

Mrs. Mihelich said she advised against her husband driving the more than seven-hour trip to Michigan.

''When he told me he was going to be driving, I told him he was crazy,'' she said. ''I just let him do whatever he was going to do.

''Am I sure glad he didn't listen to me.''

Mihelich said he flies a lot because of his job and still believes flying is the safest form of traveling.

His only restriction in the future: ''I will try to avoid commuters in very bad weather.''

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Contributing to this package were Enquirer reporters Lisa Biank Fasig, Kym Liebler, Tanya Bricking, Kathleen Hillenmeyer, Ursula Miller, Jane Prendergast, Kristi Nelson, Andrea Tortora, Guy Boulton, Christine Wolff, John Hopkins, Dana DiFilippo, Terry Flynn, Darrell S. Pressley, Gregory A. Hall, Cindy Schroeder, William A. Weathers, Mike Boyer, Tim Sullivan and Patrick Crowley.

PLANE
SERVICE RECORD
VICTIMS
WEATHER
COMAIR
CRASH SITE
AIRPORT
INVESTIGATION

Victims

First Officer
Kenneth Reece

Flight Attendant
Darinda Ogden

PASSENGERS
Adams, Dexter
Cincinnati

Barrow, Gregory
Detroit

Bransford, Roger
Atlana

Brice, Arthur
Jackson, Miss.

Brownlee, Christine
Helena, Mont.

Brownlee, Scott
Helena, Mont.

Davis, Geoffrey
Detroit.

Demarco, Maureen
Denver.

Douchard, Greg
Summit, Miss.

Felteau, Leo
Atlanta

Herman, Mark
Detroit

Jones, Betty Jean
Detroit

Jones, Charles
Macomb, Miss.

McClain, Steven
Detroit.

Muskovitz, Teri
Detroit.

Passariello, Kim
Detroit

Raymond, Roy
Twin Falls, Id.

Raymond, Vernamarie
Twin Falls, Id.

Rosiak, Jennifer
Pensacola, Fla.

Rosiak, Nicholas
Pensacola, Fla.

Sharangpani, Arati
Colts Neck, N.J.

Stearn, Richard
Detroit

Takenami, Keita
Colts Neck, N.J.

Thomas, A. Douglas
Detroit.

Wansedel, Charles
Detroit

Zagar, Darlene
Danville, Ky.