By Max Fontaine | Hard news beat reporter
(Southlake Township)
A Bass Lake man was found safely uninjured after a lengthy crash event Tuesday near Out-on-the-Highway Road.
According to Bass Lake Police Authority, Sam Butcher, 24, was driving a black, 2004 Ford V-6 with personalized plates, and was unable to negotiate a curve. Despite his discussions with the curve, the vehicle he was driving left the road under its own power.
The Ford struck a few trees, then a bush or two, careened off the side of a stone wall and over unidentified rocks, narrowly missing a grain bin, a house and a car (also a Ford) just out back of the home. The vehicle continued its forward-momentum, mowed over a sweet-corn plot, zoomed across an adjacent driveway, plowed through a gully, zipped up an embankment and across the northeast edge of a flower garden, then smashed through a barbed-wire fence, rolled over 1.5 times and finally came to rest on its roof, inside an implement shed, against the front wheel of a green, 2011 John Deere S-series combine, puncturing its tire.
Butcher was not hurt at all, police said. Seven zinnias were killed, and a Douglas fir sustained minor front-end damage.
Unofficial property-damage estimates: Ford V-6, $900. Other stuff: $19,012.
The collisions are under investigation, said Bass Lake Police Authority Chief Tug McNabb.
“It’s possible speed was a factor in the incident, but there’s no way to confirm it (Tuesday),” McNabb confirmed.
Police initially considered ticketing Butcher for failure(s) to yield, but waived the citation due to a little-known accident-uniqueness clause.
“I told him, ‘bet you couldn’t do that again if you tried,’” quipped McNabb, laughing.
Bass Lake Beacon