A demolition project in Warren, Michigan, turned awry when an excavator toppled into a hole at the site of the former Baseline Feed Store, a historic landmark known for its yellow paint and long service to the community. The accident was caused by an undiscovered crawl space beneath the structure, causing the 40-ton John Deere 210 Excavator to slip in about six feet and nearly overturn. Workers scrambled to address the unexpected turn of events, with clean-up efforts starting immediately after the incident.
According to WWJ Newsradio 950, the incident took place Wednesday afternoon near Van Dyke and 8 Mile. Charlie Langton, on the scene, remarked, "You don’t see this often". Despite the seeming severity of the crash, no injuries were reported. The clean-up involved figuring out how to right-side the heavy machinery, with efforts expected to continue until the site was cleared for work to resume.
The Baseline Feed Store, which once sold everything from pet supplies to hay for farmers, shut down in recent years but remained etched in the town's memory. "They were trying to tear down the rest of the building here and nobody knew there was a crawl space underneath there," a worker told FOX 2 Detroit during the site's tear-down. Leo, the driver of the excavator, fortunately, emerged from the incident unscathed. His comment, "A little shaken up but you know... Hope they've got insurance," conveyed his relief post-accident.
The historical marker near the building shed light on the locale's heritage, stating the shop initially opened in 1833 to serve farmers when the area was known as Warren Township. Regardless of the accident, tow truck crews managed to stabilize and extract the excavator from the hole, according to information provided by a worker interviewed by Macomb Daily. Demolition was expected to proceed by Wednesday's end as plans to usher in the site's next chapter remained underway, despite no immediate revelations regarding its future replacement.
