An elderly man drove across Eastgate Town Center’s parking lot Thursday morning, hit three vehicles and crashed into The Cross Culture church, busting a New Hampshire-shaped hole in its brick wall.
“It’s about time to give up my driver’s license, I think,” said Robert Conrad, 77, of Birchwood.
“It’s like I got dizzy or blacked out for a second,” he said. “By the time I woke up, it was all over.”
Chattanooga police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said Conrad lost consciousness right before his Chevrolet truck jumped the curb, hit three parked cars and slammed into the building.
The impact left a 10-by-12-foot hole.
Weary said Conrad was not charged, but will be found at fault for the accident and all property damage.
Korbet Swope, senior pastor of The Cross Culture, received a call from mall management about 15 minutes after the accident happened. Relaxed at the scene later, Swope said no one was inside the church during the 9 a.m. accident.
“It’s what everyone looks forward to in the morning,” Swope said, tongue very much in cheek. “But we won’t miss a beat.”
The Cross Culture is an independent, nondenominational, Christian church, according to its website.
Police investigated the scene for a possible gas leak, Weary said, but quickly determined there was nothing of the sort near the busted-out hole, a former window in Swope’s office.
Broken glass shared carpet space with empty water bottles and phone books inside the office, across from the church’s sanctuary.
Swope said Eastgate staff would put a temporary barrier over the hole in the wall before the day was over.
Contact Chris Carroll at ccarroll@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6610.