Half of the Vienna Township Hall is now closed after an SUV crashed into the building.
The vehicle crossed a busy Vienna Road, colliding with a tree, before becoming lodged inside the wall of the township offices. Two people were in the car at the time and taken to the hospital.
“There was quite a bit of cutting involved, I mean, in order to get it out,” said Township Supervisor Joseph A. Rizk. “It was lodged in a room. The firefighters had to use all their skills to do it. Thank god they are trained very well in our area.”
Rizk says only the bumper of the SUV was outside the building, causing extensive damage inside.
“The inside would be very insecure from a structural standpoint until those foundation walls are completely re-done,” said Rizk.
Rizk is waiting on an insurance adjustor to assess the damage. He estimates it would cost over half a million to fix, but believes it will be covered by insurance.
“Right now we are very confident that the insurance company will be covering this fully,” said Rizk. “There might be a slight deductible. It’s not something to be concerned about.”
There is also the issue of time. Rizk says the hole in the wall will take several months to fix.
In the meantime, they will have to share offices to accommodate the departments displaced by the crash.
“We do have the corridors blocked off,” said Rizk. “So, there’s no danger to either the occupants, our workers, and or the constituents that come in to receive any services they need.”
“There will be no interruption to services while the east side of the building is closed. All of those offices have been moved to the west wing of the township hall.