Driver’s supervisor describes wreck that wiped out front of video store; police still investigating

Boards cover the front window and entrance of Liberty Hall Video, 646 Massachusetts St., Thursday, March 10, 2016. Two people were injured Wednesday afternoon when a car crashed into the front of the store.

The supervisor of one of the drivers involved in a collision that destroyed a downtown storefront Wednesday has shed more light on the injury accident.

Stefanie Bryant, news director for WOW 6News, confirmed Thursday that one of the vehicles in the wreck is an SUV owned by WOW. She declined to identify the employee driver, who was not injured.

Lawrence police have said the Wednesday afternoon accident at the intersection of Massachusetts and Seventh streets — which wiped out the front of the Liberty Hall video store — is still under investigation, and they have not yet released an official report.

Identities and condition updates for two people injured in the accident — one a pedestrian and the other a driver — have not been released.

Sgt. Trent McKinley, Lawrence Police Department spokesman, said Thursday that unless someone is believed to have a life-threatening injury when he or she is transported, police do not share condition information.

“I don’t believe that is the case with this collision,” he said.

A police sergeant at the accident scene Wednesday did say two cars collided and one went off the roadway into the Liberty Hall video store, 644 Massachusetts St. He added that other details would be available soon.

Concrete and glass litter the interior of Liberty Hall Video, 646 Massachusetts St., after a car crashed into the front of the store Wednesday afternoon, March 9, 2016.

Bryant, of 6News, told the Journal-World on Thursday that the 6News vehicle was heading west on Seventh Street and had a green light. She said that as the 6News employee was heading into the intersection, a Toyota Corolla driven by a woman going north on Massachusetts Street also entered the intersection, against the light.

“Our employee put on her brakes to avoid hitting that vehicle, tried to swerve … and hit the rear passenger door,” Bryant said.

The driver of the Toyota reportedly lost control and veered off the roadway, hitting a pedestrian and clipping a planter before crashing into the glass storefront of Liberty Hall video, pushing back a 2-foot-high wall of limestone blocks and bricks that made up the lower structure of the storefront.

“It blew out all the mortar in the bricks,” said Dean Edington, general manager of the Liberty Hall Box Office and video store, who on Thursday had workers assessing the damage.

Edington said less than one minute before the accident occurred, an employee had been checking for videos in a return box located near the window.

“It’s lucky because it could have been worse,” Edington said. “As it is, the front of the building is beat up.”

The driver of the Toyota and the pedestrian were taken to the hospital by ambulance Wednesday.

Edington said he had been wondering how the pedestrian was doing.

“I don’t know who she is, what her condition is, but I really would like to know,” he said. “It’s a big story about the building, but the people part is way more important.”

Edington said he had been surprised by the outpouring of people asking if they could help.

The nearby 715 restaurant even delivered free pizza to workers at Liberty Hall Wednesday night, he said.

The video store did not sustain any structural damage, and Edington hoped it would reopen for business in seven to 10 days.

“I’ve never dealt with a car destroying a storefront before,” he said. “I’ll have a better idea tomorrow what needs to be done.”

Meanwhile customers can still rent and drop off videos by coming to the box office, which is next door to the video store. The box office hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.