Car destroyed by fire after accident in Colvill

Two Grand Marais women narrowly escaped serious injury after the 2002 Buick Rendezvous they were in left Highway 61 near mile marker 118 on Friday, April 1, 2011. According to Minnesota State Patrol Lieutenant Steve Pillsbury, Helen Ford, 75, was driving west toward Grand Marais when she swerved to avoid a deer and her vehicle left the roadway. The car crashed into brush and then a tree. It is believed that a gas line ruptured, causing the car to catch on fire.

Cook County Law Enforcement received six 911 calls reporting the car on fire and passing motorists stopped and assisted Ford and passenger, Anunciation “Nonie” Bohnen, 57, from the vehicle, which was eventually consumed by fire.

Colvill Fire Chief Tom Thompson and firefighter Willie Olin were heading home from Grand Marais when they heard the page at 5:56 p.m. They had to pass the vehicle, engulfed in flames, to get to the Colvill Fire Hall. By the time they got to the fire hall, seven other Colvill emergency responders were there and by 6:04 p.m., Colvill was on the scene with nine fire fighters and First Responders, its rescue truck and a fire truck.

The car was a total loss. “By the time we got there, it was gone. We just put out what was left—which wasn’t much. I couldn’t even recognize what kind of car it was,” said Thompson. The fire department shot foam around the vehicle, onto nearby trees, to prevent the fire from spreading.

Cook County Ambulance was paged and responded; however both women refused transport to the hospital. Ford was given a ride to Grand Marais by a Canadian motorist and after meeting her son, was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital. She suffered back injuries and is recovering at the hospital at press time.