Angola man injured after pickup veers off road, into tree

BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – A pickup truck crash in Branch County’s Gilead Township on Block Road sent an Angola man to the hospital Tuesday afternoon. The 54-year old driver, David Wayne Smith, was trapped in the wreckage of his Ford F-150 for nearly a half hour before being freed by the Bronson Fire Department’s jaws of life.  The Branch County Sheriff’s Department says Smith was southbound on Block near Copeland Road when he lost control after falling asleep at the wheel. The pickup ran off the right edge of the slushy road and Smith overcorrected and ended up smashing into a tree. He was taken to the Community Health Center of Branch County for treatment of leg and chest pains. Deputies said alcohol was not a factor in the accident which remains under investigation.