STANTON, Mich. (May 19, 2014) — A two vehicle crash in Montcalm County caused a gas leak, resulting in a small number of residents being forced from their homes.
According to the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office, on May 18 at about 12:44 p.m., a 46-year-old man from Saranac was driving a Ford F-150 that was pulling a boat. He was headed north on South State Street, and was turning into a driveway, when a 57-year-old woman from Howard City hit the truck with her Jeep Cherokee. Police say she was traveling in the same direction and did not see the truck’s turn signal.
The jeep went off the road and hit a natural gas line owned by Consumers Energy, causing a gas leak. Crews from the Stanton Fire Department responded and helped with evacuating some nearby homes.
The crash and gas leak happened at the same time as the graduation ceremony for Central Montcalm Public Schools, but the ceremony was not impacted, with the exception of minor traffic issues.
South State Street was closed for about three hours while the scene was cleaned up and the leak was repaired. No injuries were reported and everyone was wearing their seat belts.
