WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Owners of Flights of Fancy Restaurant in Waterford Township are asking customers for their support after a longtime server, 45-year-old Amy Kuechle, was critically injured in a single-car crash Saturday.
Co-owner Kristen Robinette said staff immediately knew something was wrong when Kuechle didn’t show up for her shift the next day.
The owners quickly organized a GoFundMe to help cover medical costs and are asking patrons to give what they can.
“A lot of people know her and love her here; there’s not one person here that she has not touched,” Robinette said.
Robinette said Kuechle is a familiar presence at the restaurant and a central part of its atmosphere in Waterford.
“She’s someone when she walks through the door, everyone’s going to smile because you first know you’re going to have fun, she’s going to do something crazy and wild, and she just brings joy to everyone,” Robinette said.
Robinette and co-owner Cody Syrocki said Kuechle left work around 9 p.m Saturday evening and later got into a crash off Highway M-59. The following day, the pair said they received a call that she was in critical condition and on a ventilator.
“She has never missed a day, she’s never been late, and we got a phone call saying she’s in the hospital, critical condition, on a ventilator,” Robinette said.
Kuechle suffered multiple broken ribs, severe blood loss, and underwent emergency surgery to have her spleen removed. Robinette said she is being slowly weaned off the ventilator.
“She’s very sedated still, so they’re trying to see if she’s able to tolerate it, but her oxygen was still struggling when we saw her last,” Robinette said.
Kuechle is a single mother of two children, ages 8 and 15, and her job at the restaurant is her primary source of income.
The GoFundMe campaign started by Robinette and Syrocki has already raised more than $2,000.
“We know this is a long struggle,” Robinette said. “This is going to be a recovery that she’s going to have to battle herself, but we’re going to support her in every way we can and those kids and try to help them.”