RED WING, Minn. — A man has been charged after an SUV crashed through the window of a downtown building in Red Wing, scattering the structure in the street Wednesday night.
Donovan Plank, 28, has been charged with a DWI, reckless driving, trespassing and failure to obey a traffic control device.
Plank was initially outside his partner's home, when she called the police to remove him because he was behaving recklessly, cut the electricity of her residence and smelled like alcohol, police said.
Plank then fled, was driving 60 to 70 mph through residential areas and flashed his high beams at a squad car, police said.
A chase ensued, but it ended at the building sitting on the corner of West 3rd Street and Plum Street, after Plank crashed into it, the complaint states
The building is home to Liberty’s Restaurant & Lounge on the main level, and an unknown number of apartments in the floors above.
The building was evacuated. No injuries were reported.
Videos of the scene taken by witnesses show dust in the air as police cars gather around the damaged building.
Police say the driver was uninjured, and taken to the Goodhue County Adult Detention Center.
The area around the building, 3rd Street and Plum Street, or Highway 58/63, closed Thursday morning for the building to be assessed by a structural engineer.
Plank's driver's license was revoked in 2013 after a DWI, according to prosecutors.
The building's owner, Doug Noreen, told KARE 11 Thursday afternoon that he's working with insurance on the next steps to take, but that insurance doesn't cover the five tenants who lived in the apartments above the restaurant. He told KARE 11 many of those tenants do not have renter's insurance, so money raised in this fundraiser put on by Red Wing Downtown Main Street will go to them.
OTHER NEWS: Police: Man dies in crash after stealing vehicle