Cops: Man drove truck into historic church
Christopher Wood from C-Cat Electric in Mattituck tosses a brick from the basement as Pastor Thomas LaMothe views the damage created by a pickup truck at the historic First Baptist Church in Greenport. (July 20, 2011) Credit: Randee Daddona
Pastor Thomas LaMothe and his family were fast asleep in the parsonage when they were awakened by the sound of metal crashing against concrete as a truck crashed into their Greenport church.
The pastor said his first thought was that an air conditioner had fallen from a window. Then he walked out onto the grounds of the First Baptist Church shortly before midnight Tuesday.
In the half-light, LaMothe said he saw a fence gate had been knocked down. He looked closer and saw the pickup truck that had crashed through the foundation of the 180-year-old church.
"It's kind of shocking, the surprise of it," LaMothe said.
Juan Carlos Flores-Campos, 23, was driving a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500, a work truck his employer had not authorized him to use, when he lost control on Main Street, struck a curb, crashed through the fence and bushes surrounding the church, then hit the church itself, Southold Town police said.
The accident, in which no one was injured, happened around 11:45 p.m., police said.
Police said Flores-Campos, of Third Street in Greenport, ran away but was arrested a few hours later at an undisclosed location.
He was charged with the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He posted $700 bail and was released from custody. He is due back at Southold Town Justice Court Sept. 16.
LaMothe said the pickup crashed through the northwest corner of the building and ended up halfway in the basement of the old church. The area is directly beneath the main sanctuary. The pastor said the entire front end of the truck ended up in the basement, the back part dangling.
LaMothe said he believes insurance will cover the damage.
Southold police said a building department inspector determined the church was structurally sound. Electrical service was shut down after the crash as well, LaMothe said. Police said that after an inspection, electricity was restored.
The building was built in 1831 along the old North Road and was moved to its present location in 1846, LaMothe said, adding he has been pastor of the small congregation for about 15 years.
Hours after the crash, LaMothe was still surprised about discovering "this truck hanging in the building."
"It wasn't exactly what I expected to find," he said.
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