By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
A semi-truck crashed into a building in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 15.
Around 1:45 a.m., a driver alerted Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Miguel Mendez to the truck, which collided into 605 S. Lapeer Rd.
“Deputy Mendez went to check it out and he discovered that a semi-truck was half buried into the wall,” OCSO Sgt. Frank Lenz said. “The truck was half sticking out of it. The cinder block siding, everything was crumbing down. Mendez bravely climbed through the rubble, moving rubble out of the way and went up to the driver’s window.”
The driver, a 40 year-old male resident of Lincoln Park, was reported as “incoherent” but awake. Lenz says neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be a factor in the accident. The driver was taken to a hospital by Oxford Fire Department paramedics with non life-threatening injuries.
The truck was stuck in the building for most of the day before being removed that evening. The hole has since been boarded up. Nobody was in the building at the time of the accident.
“Deputy Mendez did great work,” OCSO Sgt. Frank Lenz said. “He put himself in harm’s way to save others. He did everything he was supposed to and then some without hesitation. He did a great job.”