By Paul Garrod
Staff writer
new4garrod@gmail.com
PAW PAW – In a memo to the Paw Paw Village Council at its Monday night Feb. 9 village council meeting, Paw Paw Chief of Police Eric Rottman conveyed to the council “the excellent work your officers did under very inclement conditions.”
Rottman said in the memo, “Our department responded to numerous accidents on I-94 along with the Michigan State Police and Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office during the winter storm and white out conditions on Jan. 27 and 28. One included an accident at the bridge over the West Branch of the Paw Paw River on I-94. The initial crash involved two semis that collided and partially blocked the bridge. This then caused additional slide offs and accidents.
“There were additional crashes and slide-offs along I-94 from Mattawan to just west of Paw Paw throughout the day. At times the visibility was down to feet.”
Rottman presented some dash cam photos “that do not do the conditions justice but give you an idea of what it was like.”
He continued, “On Feb. 2, highway conditions again resulted in icy conditions. We had multiple slide-offs within village limits. This included one slide off where after just passing the officers patrol vehicle a pickup truck lost control and went into the ditch. Thankfully the vehicle missed the officer and their patrol vehicle.”
