ST CHARLES, Mo. — A driver crashed into a St. Charles church on Saturday afternoon.
A yellow pickup truck was crashed into the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Chapel and Community building near the intersection of N 5th Street and Jefferson Street at around 2 p.m.
The St. Charles City Police Department, St. Charles Fire Department, and St. Louis Metro Urban Search and Rescue System Task Force were at the crash along with the Emergency Accident Response and a Spire utility unit for safety.
Police and fire crews made sure the building at 122 N 5th St, St Charles, MO 63301 didn't collapse and didn't pose a threat to people walking inside or around it.
Clean-up of the destruction continued into the evening since the truck crashed into the church's sanctuary, leaving broken materials, especially glass, everywhere.
"They came through the parking lot and right into our sanctuary," PJ Pyrchla, president of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Chapel and Community, said. "[He drove] right over all of our chairs and crashed into our computer even."
No one was in the building at the time of the accident.
Fire Chief Kelly Hunsel told 5 On Your Side that a man was driving the truck who was trying to avoid a collision. The driver was taken to an area hospital for injuries, according to the fire department. Pyrchla said first responders told her there was a chance the driver had been cut off by another vehicle which led him to swerve off the road.
"I didn't compute right away how devastating this really was," Pyrchla said. "The first thing that went through my mind was well thank goodness no one was here at the chapel."
Neighbors and members of the church looked on in shock at the scene. St. Charles fire crews told us they were grateful it wasn't worse.
"Most people think accidents only happen when there is inclement weather, icy, rainy things like that," Hunsel said. "We have incidents like this every day of the year. It doesn't matter how nice or bad the weather is."
The Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church had an open mic on Friday night with about 15 people. During a typical Sunday morning though they can have anywhere between 20 to 40 people at a service. Emphasizing that if this crash had happened on a Sunday morning, there could have been a number of fatalities.
If you'd like to donate to the rebuilding process for the church, there is a PayPal donation page.
Members of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church are expecting to have a collaborative Zoom service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 14. If you'd like to join, click here.
Police and fire crews continue to conduct an investigation. This article will be updated with the latest information as it is released.