On Thursday, a building in downtown Kansas City partially collapsed after a woman plowed into the structure’s façade.
On Thursday, a building in downtown Kansas City partially collapsed after a woman plowed into the structure’s façade.
The female behind the wheel was reportedly driving a stolen SUV at the time of the crash. According to police, the vehicle was seen Thursday morning but wasn’t pursued.
Later in the day, the SUV was witnessed again, only that time, the driver ran a stop sign and was traveling at a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour. At that point, officers started chasing the auto.
While the woman was doing her best to evade police, she crashed into a fire hydrant before smashing into the front of the building. Immediately a portion of the structure started to crumble and vast amounts of dust clouded the air.
Witness, Cynthia Bell remarked “As fast as she was going, as fast as they were chasing her, I knew something was going to happen. It was like a bomb. It was like 'boom, boom!' If it could have shook the ground, it would have.”
The driver of the stolen SUV was transported to the hospital for non life-threatening injuries. Vintage cars were stored in the affected building.
According to firefighters, the wreck weakened the structure and caused a section of the roof to collapse which led to one of the antique cars falling into the rubble on the ground.
Engineers have assessed the damage. It has not yet been determined if crews will have to demolish the building.
