On Saturday evening, an alcohol-related car accident sent a vehicle crashing into the Ranch House Diner on Alabama Street, the third incident of an auto colliding with a building in 10 days and the second in less than 24 hours.
What gives?
“It’s the kind of thing that happens in spurts sometimes,” said Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton. “And for two of them to happen on back-to-back days is pretty unusual.”
Shelton said, apart from the timing, there was no common thread among the three crashes. The first came in the early morning hours of Sept. 8 when a pickup left the road on North Lehmberg Road and crashed into Fire Station No. 5, significantly damaging the front of the station and one of the truck bays. Shelton said the cause of the accident was attributed to a medical issue affecting the driver. There were no injuries and no charges were filed.
On Friday, shortly after 1 p.m., a car crashed through the entry of Friendly City Books on Fifth Street, seriously damaging the store. The elderly driver may have also had a medical issue, but Shelton said Monday the driver likely mistook the gas pedal for the brake as the vehicle crashed through the entry and came to rest inside the store. Again, there were no injuries.
Saturday evening’s crash came when two cars collided on Alabama Street in front of the diner around 6 p.m. The impact of the collision sent one of the vehicles crashing into the restaurant exterior, knocking a five-foot hole into the cinderblock wall.
One person was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle.
“The guy in the one on Saturday was drunk,” Shelton said. “We arrested him for a DUI.”
Shelton said it was a misdemeanor arrest.
The damage to the restaurant was relatively minor. Owner Sammy Sullivan, with the help of some of his regular customers, had cleaned up and temporarily repaired the damage well enough to allow the restaurant to open as usual on Sunday morning.
Brandt Galloway of Galloway Chandler McKinney Insurance in Columbus said that while it is a little unusual to have three car-building crashes in such a short timespan, it’s not uncommon to see these sorts of accidents.
“I wouldn’t say we see one every month, but I think I’ve had three or four of these kinds of claims this year,” Galloway said.
Shelton said the causes of such collisions are varied.
“Sometimes, it may be weather-related,” Shelton said. “Other times, it could be speed or reckless driving. Sometimes, like the one Saturday, they are alcohol-related. Another thing we see, unfortunately, is that some of these crashes are caused by elderly people who just shouldn’t be driving anymore.”
Shelton said in those cases, family members can petition the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to have their elderly relative’s driving privileges suspended.
“Sometimes, the family has to get involved,” Shelton said. “For some of the elderly people, there comes a time when they just cannot safely operate a vehicle.”
Galloway said car/building collisions can be difficult to sort out when it comes to covering the costs of repairs to businesses.
“You can get into all sorts of inter-mingled coverages,” Galloway said. “First, does the driver have a valid automobile insurance policy? Sometimes, you learn that the coverage has lapsed or in some cases the driver is uninsured.”
A typical minimum auto insurance policy provides $25,000 in property damage coverage, Galloway said.
“That may sound like a fair amount of money, but in these kinds of situations, $25,000 isn’t going to cover the damage.”
For repairs that exceed the driver’s auto insurance liability, the balance is generally covered by the building owner’s property insurance after the deductible is met.
Emily Liner, owner of Friendly City Books, is still sorting out all those issues.
“We hope to have some answers in a few days,” she said. “Right now, we don’t know how much the repairs will cost or when we’ll be able to re-open.”
As it was with the Ranch House, patrons have shown their support for Friendly City Books, Liner said.
“Barbara Bigelow (director for Main Street Columbus) gave us a spot at the Market Street Festival the day after the crash, and we had a big day with a limited supply of books,” Liner said. “We are so grateful to everyone who has reached out to us and checked in to see how we’re doing. Everybody has been so supportive.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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