Hall side estimated to close for four months
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — A truck crashed through the west side of American Legion Walter Fraser Post 108 in Oxford on Dec. 28, leaving one person dead.
The truck’s driver had a seizure, hit a car at the intersection of Drahner Road and M-24, and was diverted toward the post. It missed the nearby gas station, trees and clipped the legion’s helicopter before hitting the museum-side wall. The truck was airborne at least twice, said Post 108 Commander Dave Perry.
“From the legion, of course, our very deepest condolences to the family,” Perry said. “It’s a terrible tragedy. You don’t want to ever see anybody lose a life.”
No one inside the building was injured. The hall side of the American Legion includes the legion’s museum and banquet hall facilities.
As commander, Perry said his main concern is making sure the building is structurally safe, adding his rough estimate is the hall side of the building will be closed for four months.
Disaster restoration company Belfor is handling the response to the crash, Perry said. Part of the response includes getting a structural engineering company to come out to investigate the extent of the damage. Perry also said temporary supports are likely to be put in place to hold the roof up.
Several of the post’s steel I beams that hold up the roof were damaged in the crash, one of them severely. The building’s roof is sagging in this spot.
“It probably took out half (of) the museum, which is pretty crucial for the whole post,” Perry said. “It’s been there for a long time and the state recognized it as nationally registered.”
Perry said Belfor brought in a textile cleaning company to document every item included in the museum to decide what can be cleaned. The items will then be cleaned and stored until the museum is ready to be reopened.
The legion will not do any fundraisers until it is clear what insurance will cover, according to Perry.
“Our biggest concern, from a financial point of view, is the loss of business because we can’t rent that side of the hall,” Perry said.
The bar side of the building was reopened last week. Walter Fraser Post 108 is located at 130 E. Drahner Rd.