NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - The owner of a preschool in North Miami is relieved that no children were inside the building when the driver of an SUV lost control and came crashing into it, sending two people to the hospital.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to Skipper Chuck’s Child Care Center, located at the intersection of Northwest 119th Street and 11th Avenue, Saturday morning.
7News cameras captured a red Dodge Durango completely inside the building.
The preschool’s owner, Lorraine Smith-Pee, was surprised by the SUV driver’s smashing entrance, but she was also grateful no students were inside.
“Very lucky and blessed,” she said.
But the driver left behind debris to clean up and damages to be repaired.
“An SUV ran into the building destroyed and just destroyed my whole classroom,” said Smith-Pee.
The day care’s owner, a teacher of 33 years, said she never thought something like this could happen to her facility.
“I see things like that on TV, as far as the news and stuff, cars going into buildings and everything, but not my classroom,” she said, “I was deeply destroyed.”
Authorities have declared the building unsafe, but Smith-Pee is just happy it was not full of 3- and 4-year-olds when the crash took place.
“I feel very lucky. It’s not a tragedy. Everything can be rebuilt, and kids’ lives cannot be replaced,” she said, “so I thank God for that.”
Smith-Pee said the children who normally attend the North Miami location of the day care will go to one of the other two locations.
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