The American Red Cross building Downtown bears a SUV-sized hole in the front wall this morning and the driver of the out-of-control vehicle faces drunken-driving charges.
Firefighters rescued the driver and sent him to Wishard Memorial Hospital.
The SUV was speeding south on Central Avenue about 70 mph, sailed through a median at 10th Street and into the building about 5:30 a.m., police said.
Diemer was driving on a suspended license, Mount said.
He was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital and treated for minor injuries but refused to allow authorities to draw his blood to test for alcohol content, Mount said. Diemer had no previous DUIs.
Red Cross spokeswoman Ann Gregson said a boardroom and the emergency services department are on the side of the building where the SUV crashed. She said no one was inside at the time.
“We have a board meeting today at noon, so it could have been worse,” she said. In the emergency services department caseworkers would usually be sitting at desks and conferring with people in need, including military families, Gregson said.
The building would open as scheduled today, she said.
Fire Department spokeswoman Capt. Rita Reith said the car “demolished” a traffic control box.
‘It pushed the thing clear across the street,” Reith said.
Traffic signals were disrupted at Central and 10th along with nearby intersections.
