What was intended to be a simple stop at the ATM in downtown Dowagiac turned into a wild ride for a Dowagiac man when he accidentally accelerated at high speed through the drive up lane, across a parking lot and street, through a fence and eventually straddling the railroad tracks near the Dowagiac Train Depot.
Steven L Grinnewald, Director of Public Safety for the City of Dowagiac, tells us that it was around 3:25pm this afternoon when his department was dispatched to the crash scene near Commercial Street in downtown Dowagiac.
Apparently, 73 year old Larry Starrett from Dowagiac was at the 1st Source Bank ATM in the process of using the cash dispensing machine when, while leaning out of the window of his car, he accidentally accelerated and careened through the drive up lane, through the parking lot, across Depot Drive , through the fence along Depot Drive and finally came to rest on the railroad tracks.
Starrett sustained minor injuries in the crash and was taken to Ascension Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital by Pride Ambulance for treatment of what police termed non-life threatening injuries. Authorities say that alcohol or drug use were not a factor in the crash.
Dowagiac Police were assisted at the scene by the Dowagiac Fire Department, Pride Ambulance, and the Michigan State Police.
