Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer James Wyss reported that Valerie Turner, driving a Freightliner owned by Made It Logistics of Fort Worth, Texas, stated that she swerved to avoid hitting an animal and then lost control of her vehicle, overturning the commercial truck on its side in the middle of the south-bound lane of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway. Witnesses stated that they did not see any animals, and reported that the driver began drifting out of her lane, over-corrected, and lost control, causing the semi-truck to flip over. The driver was injured in the accident and taken to the hospital.
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Police Chief Doug Myers reported that when firefighters arrived on the scene they found a slight oil leak coming from the semi, but no smoke or fire. Firefighters set up for a single lane open south bound until Hasse’s Towing and Crane Service could get to the scene. “Once recovery operations started, firefighters assisted law enforcement with shutting down the highway completely, and ramping south bound traffic off at the 13 mile marker off ramp onto Snow Road,” Chief Myers said. “Firefighters assisted with the fluid cleanup and then cleared the scene after an extensive operation by the tow company.”
Vehicle/deer accident
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer Rob Christner reported that Timothy Rochefort, driving a Ford Escape, was southbound on Red Bud Trail when a deer ran into the road and struck his vehicle. Rochefort was not injured and there was function damage to his vehicle.
Vehicle/coyote accident
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer Russell Robbins reported that Trevor Knuth, driving a Kia Optima, was traveling southbound on the U.S. 31 bypass when a coyote ran out into the road, causing a collision and damage to the front of his vehicle. The driver was not injured in the accident.
Vehicle/deer accident
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer Keith Kirk reported that David Palmer, driving a GMC Sierra, was traveling west-bound on Snow Road when he collided with a deer. His vehicle had damage to its front grill/bumper area. Palmer was not injured in the accident.
Two-vehicle accident
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer Keith Kirk reported that Claudia Maxwell, driving a Pontiac Grand Prix, was traveling westbound on Mars when she came to the stop sign at Mars and Cass streets. She entered the intersection, failing to yield to Kimberly Pawelski, driving a Honda CR-V, which was traveling southbound on Cass and entering the intersection at Mars. The vehicles collided. The Grand Prix had severe damage to its passenger side and the Honda had severe damage to its left side. There were no injuries reported.
