A series of crashes on a rural highway injured two first responders and damaged two Grand Traverse County sheriff’s department patrol cars and a fire truck.
Michigan State Police troopers are investigating the crashes, which occurred when blowing snow caused whiteout conditions along the wintry roadway.
The first collision occurred Wednesday at about noon, when a driver on M-72 lost control and crashed head-on into an eastbound sheriff’s deputy’s patrol car near Elk Lake Road, said sheriff’s Capt. Randy Fewless.
Grand Traverse Rural fire fighters arrived to pull the deputy from the vehicle with tools known as the “Jaws of Life,” said rural fire chief Theo Weber. The deputy was sent to Munson Medical Center. The other driver was uninjured.
A second car crashed into the scene. It struck one of those firefighters, Capt. Tim Arbenowske, who was hospitalized following the hit.
“He is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery,” Weber said.
The second car also crashed into another sheriff’s patrol car and a fire truck. The truck was significantly damaged but still is usable, Weber said.
The blustery weather may have been a factor in the crashes, Fewless said. He said drivers battled whiteout conditions on M-72.
That’s a reason for drivers to use caution near crash scenes, Weber said.
“Just be aware that people are there helping during the accident and they need to slow down and give them space,” he said.
