Lawton man dies after collision with ambulance, cars, garage

Police say a 58-year-old Lawton driver caused several accidents Monday night on M-43 in Almena Township, before his own vehicle rolled several times, killing him. A Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department officers news release indicates Everett Painter’s 1995 Saturn first struck a Coloma EMS Ambulance in the 23000 block of M-43 at 8:30 p.m. Within a few blocks, police said Painter’s car, going at a high rate of speed, struck three other cars before he lost control of his own vehicle. His car rolled several times and crashed into a garage in the 30000 block of M-43. He was trapped in the car and extricated by Paw Paw firefighters. Painter was pronounced dead at the scene. Occupants in the house attached to the garage were not injured, police said. Neither were the ambulance driver nor a Coloma EMS staff member who was a passenger. A 40-year-old Portage man, Jay Oakley, was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo with neck and back injuries. A hospital spokesman told WSBT Oakley was treated and later released. Police are still investigating all of the accidents.