WHEEEE!
Posted on 08/05/2002 7:54:31 AM PDT by H8DEMS
A sport utility vehicle smashed through a wall of the oldest house in Hartford Sunday morning, landing completely inside the south parlor of the newly renovated Butler-McCook Homestead museum. The accident came two months after the museum reopened to the public following a four-year, $1.3 million renovation. The house, built in 1782, is the only one left from the city's Colonial era and contains the city's oldest intact collection of antique furniture, toys, art and Colonial-era objects. Witnesses at the scene said the driver, who was injured in the crash, was traveling about 50 mph when he went through the wall about 25 feet from Main Street. "This is a devastating blow," said William Hosley, executive director of The Antiquarian & Landmarks Society, which owns and operates the museum. "The Butler-McCook Homestead is a symbol of Hartford's heritage more than any of our other institutions. This is not only an assault on the building, it's an assault on the city." Wilfredo Sanchez, 21, was traveling east on Capitol Avenue about 6 a.m. when his KIA Sportage went through the intersection at Main Street, jumped a curb, knocked over a wooden fence and sailed through the museum wall, police said. Sanchez, of 17 Norwich St., was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under suspension, misuse of license plates and driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle. He was listed in stable condition at Hartford Hospital late Sunday. The Hartford landmark, built by doctor and paper mill owner Daniel Butler and his wife, Sarah Sheldon Butler, stayed in the family until 1971, when Butler's great-granddaughter, Frances McCook, gave it to the society for use as a museum. The recent museum renovation includes a new Main Street History Center, housed in the former doctor's office attached to the house. The center was not damaged by the crash. Items in the museum were either made in the city, Hosley said, or belonged to the McCook family and were passed down from Colonial times. Aside from the wall, the crash damaged several valuable pieces, Hosley said, including a 225-year-old chest of drawers; the 165-year-old sofa where the Rev. John McCook proposed to his wife, Eliza; and a portrait of George Sheldon, a publishing pioneer in the city. Hosley spent part of Sunday morning at the house, watching a tow truck driver extract the sport utility vehicle from the parlor and consoling museum employees. Hosley said it would take time to determine the exact cost of the damage. While many of the historic items cannot be replaced, they can be restored, he said. Vivian Zoe, a former museum development director, stopped by after hearing about the crash. "The whole thing is just horrible," said Zoe, who is executive director and curator at the Noah Webster House in West Hartford. The only consolation was that the accident happened after employees recently updated and catalogued the museum's inventory of historical items, which will provide a more accurate record of what was destroyed, she said. Courant Staff Writer Connie Neyer contributed to this report.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctnow.com ...
Not anymore
Ha. I was thinking the same thing as soon as I saw the make. Anything smaller than a Tahoe doesn't qualify...
WHEEEE!
Of course the Sportage isn't an SUV. It's an assault vehicle.
"Toy truck" doesn't make for a good headline.
it went through the building at a mere 50 mph? you know, this never happened in the good old days of castle-dom in europe. they just don't make buildings like they used to.
Small, lightweight, fuel efficient Kia toy truck.
Wilfredo will get a hero's ticker-tape parade in Hartford when the museum collects on its insurance claims.
I am fascinated by the "facts" this little sentence leaves out.
Plus each item that is listed is a story in itself.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.