ELY- An Ely man died on Monday, July 17, in a single-vehicle collision on the 2100 block of Grant McMahan Blvd./County Rd. 88, in Morse Township. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by Morse Fire and First Responders, the Ely Police Department, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident at approximately 5:40 p.m.
The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was 27-year-old William Orion Lloyd Fearn. He was driving a 2004 Ford F150 pick-up truck traveling eastbound. His vehicle went off the road into a side ditch and struck a power pole. The deceased was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
Fearn was a firefighter for the Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department. Ely Fire Chief David Marshall spoke during the July 18 Ely City Council meeting about the loss of Fearn and the impact it has had on the Morse-Fall Lake FD. “It’s a nightmare when a public safety organization must respond to a fatality involving one of their own,” the Chief said. “The Ely and Babbitt Fire Departments have stepped up and agreed to take on calls while the (Morse-Fall Lake Fire) Department deals with (Fearn’s death).”