Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Another vehicle crashes into school
SILOAM SPRINGS — Another vehicle crashed into Siloam Springs Intermediate School on Sunday evening.
It marks the second time in less than two months the east wall of the school gym has been hit by a vehicle.
A 1999 Honda Accord was traveling west at a high rate of speed on Cherri Whitlock Avenue when it left the road, crossed the lawn and struck the side of the building, according to Capt. Derek Spicer of the Police Department.
Impairment may have played a role in the accident, but wasn’t confirmed, he said.
Three adults were in the vehicle when it crashed, according to Fire Chief Jeremy Criner. Fire Department personnel had to remove the driver, said Battalion Chief Adam Rusk. Two patients were taken by ambulance and one by air ambulance, Criner said.
Two fire companies, three ambulances and an air ambulance responded to the scene, according to Criner.
Spicer said Monday he couldn’t release the identifies of the people in the vehicle because it was unclear whether their families had been notified.
A pickup hit the school during the early hours Jan. 5. It was also traveling west on Whitlock when it lost control, jumped the curb on the south side of the road, then came back across the north side of the road and went through the ditch before hitting the wall of the building.
The driver left the vehicle and police believe the driver was picked up by another vehicle, Spicer said at the time.
On Sunday, the car appeared to hit the building about 40 feet north of where the first vehicle hit the gym in January, according to Superintendent Jody Wiggins. This time the car didn’t hit a ditch or fire hydrant to slow it down and appeared to do more damage, he said.
An architect and structural engineer were scheduled to visit the site Monday afternoon to determine if the building is structurally sound, Wiggins said.
Students are being kept out of that part of the building until it’s been inspected, Wiggins said.
Contractors had just finished putting a coat of paint on the inside wall repairs from the previous accident on Saturday, Wiggins said. There was still some work to be completed on the outside, but the inside work was finished. The school planned to take down the temporary walls that block students from the work area Monday, he said.
Wiggins guessed the school had been in place for the past 20 years and the road has been there for a number of years as well, he said.
“We’ve never had an issue before the past two months,” he said.
The district plans to put some kind of a barrier between the school and road to protect the school from being hit again, but Wiggins said he doesn’t know what that will look like yet.