Beckley, WV : Pedal mistake sends car crashing into library on Monday, February 6th 2017

Fifteen minutes before Raleigh County Library Assistant Director Addie Gilkerson ended her work day Monday, she heard a crash.

"It sounded like an explosion," Gilkerson said. "I really didn't know what was going on."

Following the sound, she walked to the front entrance of the library. Beside the doors, she saw shattered glass.

"I immediately called my supervisor," she said. "I called her before I even knew what had happened."

After she'd hung up, she said, she learned a library patron had accidentally driven her vehicle into the exterior front brick of the stucco library wall.

"She's a really good library patron," reported Gilkerson. "She was fine. She felt very bad. She felt very guilty."

Gilkerson's supervisor, Raleigh Public Library Director Amy Stover, said she was already on her way to the library for a Friends of the Library meeting when she got Gilkerson's call.

"I was here, probably, within 5 minutes," she explained.

The brick was cracked and showed an obvious dent, and Gilkerson said the impact from the vehicle knocked over a glass case that was set against the front wall.

"Just a little accident," Stover said. "Somebody was parking and accidentally hit the gas instead of their brake.

"There were no injuries."

It was unclear Monday evening if the library will be open today. Stover said Beckley Fire Department firefighters had assessed the damage Monday and decided that no structural damage was done to the front wall, but library staff and some Raleigh County Public Library board of director members were still cleaning the glass Monday evening.

"We're going to make that determination (of whether to open the library today) as soon as we get everything cleaned up," Stover said. "We want to make sure it's safe before we have the public coming in."

She added that the outside brick and the inside wall will need to be repaired.

Officials had placed yellow caution tape around the outside wall Monday evening.

The 3:45 p.m. incident is under investigation by Beckley Police Department, however Lt. Jason McDaniel was not immediately available for comment Monday evening.

Source :
Pedal mistake sends car crashing into library