A woman crashed her car into a Dunwoody church on Sept. 20 after apparently falling asleep at the wheel, according to police.
The accident happened at about noon on Wednesday at Crossroads Church of Dunwoody, located at the busy intersection of Tilly Mill Road and Peeler Road.
Dunwoody Lt. Mike Carlson said a 20-year-old woman fell asleep at the wheel. An ambulance was called to the scene but there were no injuries, he said. A police report was not immediately available.
DeKalb Fire and Rescue responded to the scene due to a gas line break caused by the crash and the gas line was shut off, said Lead Pastor Chris Jordan.
Students in the church’s academy had just returned to the building for lunch and were quickly evacuated after the crash, Jordan said.
“When she hit, she hit the duct work, the AC unit and the gas lines broke. There was an immediate smell of gas … and that prompted our teachers to evacuate the building,” he said. No students were injured.
The car crashed into the worship part of the building, so there was no harm to where the students attend classes, he said. There is still the question of whether or not the AC unit will be repaired in time for Sunday services.
“We may have to pull out the old-fashioned revival fan,” Jordan said.
Assessment of the damage is underway and repairs are expected to be made in the next few days.
Jordan said numerous accidents happen at the busy intersection, including one on Thursday, Sept. 21, and he was surprised a car has not hit the church before.
“It’s not uncommon to see wrecks. It’s extremely busy and everyone is interested in cutting through to avoid the backup from I-285,” he said. “And everyone’s trying to cut through that light.”
Jordan said he talked to the woman who walked away from the crash.
“The young lady ran the red light and said she blacked out and lost control,” he said. “We’re very thankful no one was hurt. God protected this young lady.”