Fort Payne, AL : Fatal crash at Quinn on Tuesday, 25th October 2016

State officials are investigating a fatal crash that occurred Tuesday morning after a man allegedly robbed a convenience store with a hammer and drove into a building.
According to Fort Payne Police Chief Randy Bynum, 25-year-old Joshua Christian Grant, of Blount County, apparently robbed South End Market around 4:30 a.m.
“They were open at the time; I’m not sure if he knew that,” said Bynum. “But he smashed the glass in the front door with a hammer.”
Once inside, Grant smashed a beverage cooler door and stole a carton of beer.
Storeowner Jodie Phillips said there were customers inside at the time.
“The most important thing is that no one was injured here,” said Phillips.
Bynum said about the same time his department received a call, one of his officers saw Grant passing Sonic Drive-In, about half a mile away from the store.
“The suspect was traveling north at a very high rate of speed,” he explained.
He said as that officer turned around, there was another officer turning left into the police department on Second Street, less than a block away from where Grant would crash.
“The subject tried to go around him and struck a metal light pole and ran across a small concrete curb, sending the vehicle airborne and into the side of the old Quinn building,” said Bynum.
The Fort Payne Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the crash.
The old hotel, which sat empty on the corner of First Street and Gault Avenue for more than a decade, had recently been donated to One World Adventure, a local environmental education organization.
The founders, Bill and Angie Shugart, were planning to transform the abandoned space into a million-dollar 17,000-square-foot science and nature discovery center called the W.M. Beck III Discovery Center — named for the family who donated it.
In announcing the plans two years ago, the Shugarts said they hoped to spearhead downtown revitalization.
Bill Shugart asked for the community’s prayers Tuesday afternoon.
“We are saddened by the course of events involving the robbery of the South End Market and the loss of a man's life due to the car crash into One World Adventure Company's building,” he said. “We are very thankful that no one else was injured by this person's act of desperation.”
Bill Shugart said they were arranging to have the damages assessed but were currently unsure what impact this event would have on their plans to repurpose the building. He asked that everyone stay clear of the area during this time, as the structure is believed to be unsafe.
“Most importantly, we ask that you say a prayer for this man's family,” said Bill Shugart. “We ask for God's blessing on this situation that we cannot know.”

Source :
Fatal crash at Quinn