Woman crashes car into stone wall at New London City Hall
New London — A woman driving north on Union Street on Friday afternoon crashed her car through the ornamental limestone barrier surrounding City Hall, just below the windows of Mayor Michael Passero’s office.
There were no injuries in the crash and the woman, who has not been identified, was the sole occupant of her beige-colored sedan, police and fire officials said.
The crash was called in at 2:40 p.m. and as of 3:45 p.m. the scene was cleared, Fire Department Battalion Chief Jonathan Paige said by phone. “She knocked over a significant amount” of the wall, Paige said.
Police Capt. Brian Wright said no arrests were made and explained that the woman driving “didn’t negotiate the turn too well, and went over the curb by the stone fixture at City Hall,” when trying to turn onto Union Street from State Street.
The crash occurred just below the windows of Passero’s office on the western side of the building, he said. “I wouldn’t have known it had happened except the phone was ringing and I was getting texted about it,” the mayor said.
Passero tweeted several photos of the accident on his Twitter account Friday, showing the car had partially run over the barrier, knocking down some of its pillars into a grassy area between City Hall and Union Street. The car had damage to its front passenger side.
Community Development Coordinator Tom Bombria said the “bollard-like guard rail” was erected around City Hall in 1914, when a renovation was completed. He said City Hall was first built with red brick in 1856, but underwent a significant renovation that both expanded the building and remodeled its facade from 1912 to 1914.
The building was remodeled in the classical Beaux-Arts exterior by New London architect James Sweeney to have a more appealing presence in the flourishing commercial district of the early 20th century, according to The Day archives.
“Repairing (the barrier) will be difficult and expensive, but yes, it will be repaired,” Bombria said.