Debris lies in the roadway, one wrecked vehicle sits in the middle of the highway and a second pokes out of the ditch on the westbound side of U.S. 2 and 41 after a crash Tuesday afternoon in front of the Highland Golf Club that resulted in the death of an Escanaba man. (R. R. Branstrom/Daily Press photo)

FORD RIVER TOWNSHIP — An Escanaba man died Tuesday after a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 2 and 41 between Escanaba and Bark River that forced authorities to close 3 miles of the highway for about four hours.

The crash was reported just after noon Tuesday in front of the Highland Golf Club, 3011 U.S. 2, when a Subaru Outback was struck by a Toyota RAV4, according to the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that a westbound vehicle driven by an 81-year-old Escanaba man was stopped on the highway to make a left turn into the golf course,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news release. “Another westbound vehicle driven by a 17-year-old Gladstone woman failed to stop and rear-ended the other vehicle.”

The man in the Outback later died from his injuries at OSF St. Francis Hospital, the news release stated. The other driver was treated for minor injuries at the same hospital.

No names were released.

The Michigan Department of Transportation sent a second announcement at 4:34 p.m. that the highway had been reopened.

Agencies responding to the crash included Delta County Sheriff’s Office; Ford River Township Fire Department; Michigan State Police, including a traffic crash reconstruction unit; Menominee County Sheriff’s Office; Hannahville Tribal Police; Rampart EMS; Delta County Central Dispatch; City of Escanaba Department of Public Safety; and the Delta County Road Commission.