A car crashed into a house at Granger Avenue and South State Street near the Al Glick Field House Wednesday afternoon, destroying part of the home’s porch and knocking out utilities in the area.
- Paul Sherman/Daily
- Firefighters look on as members of DTE Energy clean up a car crash on State Street near the Al Glick Field House Wednesday.
- Paul Sherman/Daily
- A tow truck operator cleans up a car crash at Granger Avenue and State Street Wednesday.
- Paul Sherman/Daily
- Before colliding with the house, the driver suffered from a “medical emergency”, then struck a fire hydrant near the Al Glick Fieldhouse. The car hit a wire guard across the street as well, before hitting the porch of a house, rupturing a gas meter.
Captain Jim Budd of the Ann Arbor Fire Department said the crash occurred around 3:30 p.m. Suffering from a “medical emergency,” the driver struck a fire hydrant on the side of the street near the Al Glick Field House, Budd said. The car then crossed the street, hitting a guard wire that was stabilizing a power pole in the area. It finally came to rest after hitting the house’s porch, knocking out a gas meter in the process. A utility box full of wires near the also appeared to be damaged.
Most of the vehicle’s airbags appeared to be deployed in the crash. The car was towed from the scene shortly before 5:30 p.m.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said the victim was taken to University Hospital in unstable condition. No further details were available about why the driver lost control, due to privacy laws.
DTE Energy crews were on scene repairing the electrical lines and inspecting the gas main for damage.
DTE spokeswoman Randi Berris said crews checked the broken meter, but found no gas leak. She said the house’s gas line had not activated.
About 470 customers were affected as a result of the electric outage. Crews were still working at the scene as of 6:40 p.m., but power should be restored sometime this evening, Berris said.
DTE’s outage map estimates that service could be restored by 7:30 p.m.
Jim Grob, an Ann Arbor resident, said the driver was still awake when emergency personnel helped him from the vehicle.
“I was sitting my house when I heard what was a hell of a crash … the porch moved,” Grob said. “He looked alright when he got in the ambulance.”
State Street between Arch Street and Stimson Street had been closed down since the crash, but the street reopened shortly after 5:30 p.m.
—Daily News Editor Alicia Adamczyk contributed reporting.