ST PAUL, Minn. — Inspectors are assessing damage and a handful of residents are unable to access their homes after a crash sent two vehicles careening into a pair of buildings in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood Sunday evening.
St. Paul police say officers responded around 10 p.m. to reports of a crash at the intersection of Arcade and Jenks Avenues East and found that two SUVs had collided, sending each of them crashing into a separate building. One of the structures houses Checkerboard Pizza, and the other is a two-story apartment complex.
The driver of a Honda CRV was extricated from her vehicle and taken to the hospital by St. Paul Fire Department medics with minor injuries. Police say preliminary evidence suggests she may have been intoxicated. Blood was drawn on a warrant for suspected criminal vehicular operation, and investigators are awaiting lab results.
Two people inside a Hyundai SUV, described as females in their 20s, were treated on the scene and released.
The apartment owner told KARE 11 photojournalist David Peterlinz that he's owned the building for 23 years and has never seen anything like this happen. He says that none of the tenants were injured, but there was minor structural damage. The Minnesota Structural Collapse Rescue team was called in to assess the situation, and crew members had to cut the vehicle from the building's partially crumbled brick facade.
Both buildings were evaluated and found to be structurally sound.
Hear more from the crash in this video from the KARE 11 YouTube page:
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