By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
UNIONVILLE — An accident over the weekend put the village of Unionville’s only police cruiser out of commission.
The accident happened about 1:39 a.m., Saturday, on Center Street (M-24) near Phelps Street in the village.
M-24 is a four-lane highway coming into the village from the south before it changes into M-25, which is a two-lane highway going north, in the heart of the village.
Village Police Officer Anthony Jobes was driving the cruiser south on M-24 in the far west-side lane when a black pick-up truck driven by a 46-year old Unionville man who was traveling south in the other lane turned and struck the police car.
“The driver of the pick-up didn’t see the police car beside him,” said Michigan State Police (MSP) Trooper Mike Godi with the Caro post who handled the accident. “The man was in the one lane and turned across the second lane to turn into a driveway.”
Unionville officials contract with the village of Sebewaing to provide police officers to operate the Unionville Police Department. Jobes has been with the Sebewaing Police Department for about 18 months. He is one of the officers that helps provide police coverage to Unionville residents.
“He (Jobes) was in the process of starting to pursue (another) vehicle that was speeding. He didn’t have his lights (flashers) on, and he was in the far lane when the accident occurred down by the Lutheran Church,” explained Bill Owens, who is the chief of police for both the Sebewaing as well as the Unionville police departments. “He wasn’t in pursuit… just trying to catch up to the other vehicle.”
Because it was a village police officer involved in the accident, the MSP responded to handle the accident and write the report. Having another department do an investigation of an incident involving a law enforcement agency is standard procedure.
As to whether or not the cruiser is a total loss in the accident, it is up to the village’s insurance company’s to decide.
“We are waiting to hear from the adjuster on that,” said Owens.
The driver of the pick-up truck had a blood alcohol level of .13, said Godi noting the state’s legal limit for being intoxicated is .08
The driver was arrested for being under the influence, and taken to the Tuscola County Jail. He posted in the morning.
Because the suspect is not scheduled to be arraigned until 9 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 30, the man’s name is not being released.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.