Pickup crashes into beer store
Workers clean up the damage caused when a car crashed into the front of Beck’s beer distributorship on Jefferson Avenue in Washington early Thursday.
The damage caused when a car hit Beck’s Tobacco and Beer on Jefferson Avenue in Washington early Thursday.
A pickup truck may have crashed through the front of his business, but that was not going to stop Robert Beck from opening his Jefferson Avenue beer store Thursday after workers from a restoration company boarded up a gaping hole on the right side of the building.
Washington police said Audra McMahon, 24, of 135 Henderson Ave., Washington, was driving north on Jefferson near Tyler Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when she crossed all lanes of traffic and crashed into Beck’s Tobacco and Beer at 885 Jefferson Ave. Police said she then backed up and continued north on Jefferson for about a block, leaving the truck under the Interstate 70 viaduct and fleeing. Police said she later went to Washington Hospital for treatment. Police had the vehicle towed from the viaduct and impounded it.
“You can see the damage,” Beck said, standing outside the business with his son hours after the crash, watching the restoration work. “She backed up and pulled away.”
There is no structural damage to the building, Beck said.
“I am not sure how much inventory was damaged in addition to the 300 cases of craft beer,” Beck said of the displays just inside the area where the truck crashed through. “I am surprised she was able to drive off. With an impact like that, you would’ve thought she’d be unconscious.”
“We are open every day but Christmas,” Beck said when questioned about opening the store for the day.
There was no indication Thursday whether McMahon faces charges.