(Hartley)– A Melvin girl was taken to the hospital and a Melvin fire truck was totaled after an accident near Hartley on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
The O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office says a 16-year-old from Hartley was driving a 2006 Chevy pickup westbound on a driveway at 2734 Vine Avenue . 41-year-old Philip Krogman of Melvin was southbound on Vine Avenue in a 1999 Chevy fire truck, and 40 year-old Paul Ahrenstorff of Hartley was northbound on Vine Avenue in a 2019 Chevy pickup. The report says the teen was exiting the driveway and Ahrenstorff was southbound on Vine. The report says Ahrenstorff stopped on the roadway to allow the teen to exit the driveway because Ahrenstorff was entering the driveway. The teen pulled into the path of the southbound fire truck resulting in a collision.
The fire truck drove partially up the side of the pickup and landed on its side in the west ditch. The Chevrolet pickup driven by the teen was pushed sideways into Ahrenstorff’s pickup.
An 11-year-old girl who was a passenger in the fire truck was taken to the Sheldon hospital.
The pickup the teen was driving and the fire truck were both totaled; the pickup driven by Ahrenstorff sustained an estimated $20,000 in damage.
The mishap took place a little after 9:30 am Saturday.
(Courtesy Community First Broadcasting station KIWA in Sheldon)
