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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
RIVERTON TOWNSHIP — A vehicle crash turned into a barn fire Tuesday morning. At 11:48 a.m., emergency personnel were dispatched to 5615 S. Stiles Road for a report of a single vehicle crash with injuries. Moments later, dispatchers from Mason-Oceana 911 changed the status of the emergency to include a structure fire as well.
The initial crash involved a Chevrolet Cruz that was northbound on Stiles Road. The driver of the vehicle, a 67-year-old Free Soil area man, appeared to have mis-navigated the S-curves and drove into a yard. The vehicle struck the concrete foundation of a former silo next to a historic barn. The impact was so powerful that the engine block of the vehicle was discharged from the vehicle. The impact also caused the vehicle to catch on fire and then spread to the south side of the barn.
The Riverton unit of the Mason County Rural Fire Authority was the initial fire department called to the scene. Assistant Chief Todd VanNortwick had initially responded directly to the scene and then determined that a full department response with mutual aid was needed. Pentwater Fire Department, Pere Marquette Township Fire Department and the Scottville unit of the MCRFA were dispatched. Also on scene was a trooper from Michigan State Police Hart Post, deputies from Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Life EMS ambulance.
Firefighters were able to contain the barn fire but much of the southern wall was damaged. The driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries but was transported by ambulance to Corewell Health Ludington Hospital.
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