Several people were injured in two separate accidents in Niles Township on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Authorities responded to a three-car crash that occurred at approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Chestnut Lane and S. 11th St. in Niles Township.
One person driving a four-door Ford was hospitalized with non-serious injuries, according to Chad Frantz, a deputy with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.
The back passenger side of the Ford was smashed to pieces, exposing the inside of the vehicle. Debris was scattered throughout the intersection.
The Niles Township Fire Department also responded to the scene with the Michigan State Police and SMCAS.
Niles Township Fire Chief Gary Brovold said he “had never seen so much debris scattered around.”
The accident temporarily closed down part of Chestnut, between Lowe’s and Walmart. By 1:45 p.m., the road was re-opened.
After assuring the safety of those involved in the accident, Frantz said authorities worked quickly to clear the road and prevent further incident.
The accident remains under investigation.
Force of parking lot crash moves light pole
A car crashed into a light pole on the west side of the Walmart parking lot at approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Two people occupied the black truck that crashed. Both were taken by SMCAS ambulance to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, according to Niles Township Firefighter Aaron Floor. The extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Floor said authorities did not yet know what had caused the crash.
“We do not know what caused them to run into it [the pole], but obviously they hit it pretty hard,” he said.
The car had been traveling west toward S. 11th St. from Walmart when the crash occurred. Floor did not know the exact speed the car had been traveling at, but he said it had to have been pretty fast because the crash moved the entire pole and concrete base over about half an inch. The concrete base of the pole was cracked and a chunk had been removed.
The car sustained front-end cosmetic damage and was leaking radiator fluid. A push bar on the front end of the truck was forced into the bottom of the vehicle.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department was on scene investigating the accident.