Kalamazoo, MI:
On 5/6/20, at approximately 1pm, a small sedan lost control and crashed into a local party store in the 1300 block of Portage Street. The car impacted the NE corner and pushed a shelf loaded with alcohol approximately 4 feet further into the building from where it originally stood. Unfortunately, an employee of the store was standing behind the shelf and was also struck by the impact. He received head and neck injuries and was transported to an area hospital by ambulance. The driver of the car was uninjured.
Due to the impact of the accident, the structural integrity of the building was compromised. On duty members of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Technical Rescue Team, along with personnel from Portage Department of Public Safety, and in conjunction with the Michigan 5th District Technical Rescue Team, officers were able to safely shore up the building with lumber to prevent its imminent collapse. During this operation, southbound Portage Street was shut down for approximately 4 hours. The business is currently closed due to the damage to the building.
Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 269-488-8911, Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com.
By authority of: Lt. Timothy Loso
