20-year-old dies after striking telephone pole in Constantine Township 

A 20-year-old Dowagiac man died early Thursday morning after his car struck a telephone pole in Constantine Township.

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to the scene of a single-vehicle fatal car crash on Youngs Prairie Road near Harder Road at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 2. Authorities determined the driver was traveling southbound on Youngs Prairie Road in a Dodge passenger car when his vehicle crossed the center line, veered off the left side of the road on a curve near Harder Road, before abruptly crossing back and off the right side of the roadway and striking a telephone pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. 

According to police, the 20-year-old was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, and excessive speed does appear to have been a factor. Drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by the Constantine Fire Department and the SEPSA Fire Authority.

Alek Haak-Frost is executive editor and publisher of Watershed Voice.