SL man injured driving truck through neighbor's garage

Wed, Aug 20, 2008    to del.icio.us

SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — A Spring Lake man suffered minor injuries after driving his pickup truck through a garage early this morning.

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Emergency workers were called to 18622 Sioux Drive in the North Holiday Hills subdivision about 6:35 a.m. when residents reported a vehicle had hit their garage.

The driver of the car, Casey Bruhn, lives a short distance up the hill on Cree Court. Authorities said he suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to North Ottawa Community Hospital. Hospital officials listed him in good condition later this morning.

Homeowners Doug Chestnut and his wife, Linda Bengston, were having a cup of coffee when they heard the crash.

"I looked out the window and saw all of that dust, and said, 'Someone just drove through our garage,'" Bengston said.

One of the couple's vehicles had been pushed against the back door of the house. While Chestnut called 911, Bengston ran outside but found she couldn't get to the victim through the garage either.

"It was so scary," she said. "(Bruhn) was sitting in his truck and I couldn't get to him through the back door."

Bruhn eventually climbed out himself, apologized for damaging his neighbor's garage and said he didn't know what happened, Bengston said.

Neighbor Bill Gray said he heard the crash and looked outside only to realize the vehicle had gone from his yard, down the hill and across Sioux Drive at Tomahawk Drive, and then on an angle into the Chestnut's garage.

"He went by the for sale sign," Gray said, pointing two houses farther up the hill. "He went though three front yards and then down our driveway."

Other neighbors heard the crash but thought it was noise from garbage trucks in their neighborhood. They came out to see what was going on when the emergency vehicles arrived.

"It looks like he had some kind of a medical issue," said Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy Marty Fish. "It appears he may have blacked out and ended up in the garage."

Bruhn's wife, Sarah, said her husband was on his way to work when the accident happened. She said she didn't know about the crash until one of the neighbors came and got her.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," Sarah Bruhn said of her husband's possible blackout.

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