Single vehicle crash demolishes township office wall

A gaping hole was left in the front of the Manchester Township Hall as a result of a single-vehicle crash on Sunday afternoon. Photo courtesy Shannon McGuigan.

Around 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, a delivery vehicle traveling northbound on Macomb Street near Territorial, failed to negotiate the slight curve and left the roadway, crashing into the Manchester Township Hall at 275 S. Macomb and destroying the southwest wall and corner of the building.

According to Fire Chief Bill Scully, it is unclear what happened; whether the accident was caused by a driver medical emergency or vehicle failure. The car hit the generator on the southwest corner of the building and the window and brick wall were shattered.

“The car ended up against the building,” Scully said. “It hit the gas and electric meter, severed the line to the standby generator, and caused a gas leak at the meter. It also took out the township’s internet and telephone lines.”

Scully added it was initially “chaotic” at the scene because without electricity, there was no keypad access to the building, the garage doors needed to be raised manually, and the gas leak issue also made it difficult to respond.

“And of course, we needed to evaluate the driver,” he said. “We were able to get him out of the vehicle and assisted him to the ambulance. He was transported to the hospital, as it seemed there could be medical issues, but he did not appear critically injured.”

He added that it was extremely fortunate that no other vehicles were involved and no one happened to be walking in the area at the time of the crash.

Once Consumers Energy arrived on the scene, the gas was reconnected so there is heat to the building, but there is no electrical service from the pole. Stein Electric assisted the township by driving to Wixom to pick up a temporary generator, and connected it to restore electrical power to the building.

“We are back up and running for the most part, but the wifi hotspot that was provided by the township is no longer available, because our Comcast service was also interrupted,” Scully explained. “Because of that, there is also no phone service to the building at this time, so anyone trying to reach the township offices, or get a burn permit from the fire department, will be unable to get through for a few days.

“Neighbors will also hear the generator running 24/7 until the electric meter panel is restored, probably by the end of the week,” he concluded.

Scully reported that although they were able to clean up and board up the wall that was destroyed, the damage to the building was severe. Currently, the township offices are not open for business and staff has been working primarily from home. But he said it will take some time to make the building operational again.

Township trustee Ron Milkey said that township officials will be at the building Monday to further assess the damage and to determine if the township offices can remain in the building during reconstruction, or if they will need to be temporarily relocated.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.