News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A car veered off the road and smashed into a power pole outside of Dean Arbor Ford in a two-car crash in Alpena on Tuesday afternoon. While working on the injured, another crash occurred in front of the dealership forcing first responders to rush over to see if anyone was hurt in the second crash.

ALPENA — Alpena police and fire departments responded to a pair of car crashes that happened within minutes of one another in front of Dean Arbor Ford on Tuesday.

While first responders were treating and questioning the occupants of the initial two-vehicle wreck — which occurred around 3 p.m. — another took place on U.S.-23 in front of the dealership, sending police and medical personnel scrambling to see if anyone else was injured.

The wrecks occured in an area near a detour laid out to circumvent the Bagley Street bridge, which is closed because of construction.

Since the bridge closed in February, there has been a large increase in traffic near the intersection of U.S.-23 and Long Rapids Road to 11th Avenue.

Numerous accidents have occurred along that stretch over those months.

According to a Dean Arbor Ford employee, a fellow worker was returning to the dealership with a vehicle and preparing to turn into the entrance, when a car driving in the far right lane collided with her. He said it appeared the car was speeding, trying to beat traffic to the light at the intersection.

While first responders were caring for the injured in the first crash, lines of traffic formed in front of the store and stretched well beyond the MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, and north to Perch’s IGA.

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Unexpectedly, they heard the sound of a car rear-ending a vehicle stopped at a red light.

Alpena Police Chief Joel Jett said crashes often occur when people are distracted. He said wrecks from distracted driving are more frequent in high traffic areas when vehicles are traveling faster than they should.

Jett urges motorists to pay more attention to the road and less attention to potential distractions.

“People are too occupied,” he said. “Put the cell phone down, don’t play with the radio. People need to slow down and don’t rush to get through a light. Yellow lights do not mean to speed up.”

Jett said a single crash can lead to others because of the curiosity of the other motorists driving by the scene.

He said when approaching a wreck, it is wise to slow down, and focus on the road and not gawk at a nearby wreck.

Work on the bridge is expected to finish early this winter, but until then motorists who are traveling on or near the detour are asked to be aware of their surroundings and to slow down.

“These are good things to do, no matter where you are driving,” Jett said.