‘It sounded like a bomb’
The Smith Township municipal office is expected to be closed for at least a week as workers clean up debris after a vehicle crashed into the building on Route 18 Friday night, killing the driver.
Police Chief Bernie LaRue said Rhonda Lanham, 45, of Slovan, was driving south when her vehicle crossed the center line on Route 18 and crashed into the township building on the side housing the municipal offices at 1848 Smith Township Road (Route 18) about 10:23 p.m. The chief said she lived behind the township building and likely was on her way home.
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said Monday that Lanham, who was not wearing a seat belt, died of multiple injuries.
LaRue said the land lines to the building are down, including the department’s nonemergency number.
He said the police offices, located on the opposite side of the building, were not otherwise affected by the crash.
Officer Larry Bonazza was at the station when Lanham’s truck crashed into the building.
“He said it sounded like a bomb went off,” LaRue said.
Supervisor Tom Schilinski said the vehicle crashed into the area of the office where the secretaries would sit during the day.
He said workers were trying to retrieve the hard drives from the computers damaged by the impact.
“It took the heart out of the municipal offices,” Schilinski said Monday. “It is very fortunate no one was working because if anyone had been sitting there, they would be gone. The truck hit with such force. The wall was eight inches of block covered by brick.”
A second insurance adjuster is scheduled to come out today, but Schilinski said they have been given permission to start cleaning up the offices. He said there is no estimate of damage yet.
Lanham was the 16th person to die on county roads this year.