MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – Midwest Dream Car Collection came under risk late Friday night when someone crashed through the wall.
“It was a giant gaping hole in the side of our building,” said Bradli Nowak, visitor services and event coordinator.
Nowak was one of the first people to show up to see her workplace filled with debris on Friday night.
“Very loud showing up,” she said. “Nothing compared to the crash when we watched the security footage back. But, plaster, everywhere gets all up in your nose, it dries everything out. So, not super pleasant.”
Exhibit curator Doug Meloan wasn’t sure initially what even happened.
“When I first got the call and saw what was going on, I thought there had been an explosion because I could see a little bit of the footage,” he said. “So I was just a little bit shocked, is this for real, like what’s going on? So I jumped out of bed and came right down as soon as I heard about it.”
The museum’s director of marketing Jennifer Elliott says the cleanup wouldn’t have been possible without help from first responders on the scene.
“It was so nice to have such a caring group of folks here that night to help us secure the building and make sure that everything was okay,” she said.
Authorities said the driver suffered non-life threatening injuries, after what they called a medical episode.
As for the museum, some cars were damaged but employees said it could have been much worse.
Now, the focus is set on getting the museum ready for a community that’s shown they care.
“People just so quickly were offering to help to come in,” said Kylie Dickerson, business development, event liaison. “I think that’s just really meaningful and really speaks to not only the Manhattan community but the Flint Hills community as well.”
Midwest Dream Car Collection plans to be back open this Friday.
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