FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich.-- A former Fruitport Township firefighter has died from injuries he suffered in a two-vehicle accident at a gas station.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon at the Wesco gas station at the corner of Airline Highway and Ida Avenue in Fruitport Township.
Steve Wisniewski of Muskegon was traveling north on Airline Highway when he lost control of his pickup truck, which flipped and collided with a parked SUV near a gas pump at the station.
Just feet away from the pump, Sergeant Jerry Irwin of the Fruitport Township Police Department was one of the first to help.
"There were people trying to lift the truck, and were able to lift...and with the help from another individual I was able to pull him from under the vehicle," Irwin said.
After seeing the decal on the overturned truck, Irwin realized that the man trapped inside was Steve Wisniewski, a firefighter who was well-known in the community.
Fruitport Township Fire Chief Ken Doctor persevered through the difficult task of handling an accident involving a friend.
"You absolutely fall back into training and go into auto pilot to get through it," Doctor said.
Doctor says Wisniewski worked with them for four years, then left to pursue his heating and cooling business.
"He would stop in at least once a week and hang out for an hour or two...talk to the guys and see what's going on," Doctor said.
He mentioned the 31-year-old was always a good driver.
While an investigation will determine what caused the accident, the firefighters who worked with him have their hunches.
"We do know at one time, a couple of years ago, Steve did have a medical issue where he had an onset of a mild seizure," Doctor said.
While Wisniewski got the problem checked out and was cleared medically, Doctor still thinks the medical issue is the only reasonable answer as to why the accident occurred.
A 4-year-old girl and a woman in the other vehicle were taken to a hospital for observation, but police say they should be fine.
Republished with permission of WOOD-TV.
