Nuts and Bolts: Drunken Driver Crashes Into Firehouse

Connecticut - Town officials say they are trying to determine what it will cost to fix the damage done to the North End fire station after a drunken driver crashed into it over the weekend. For now, the hole smashed into the 50-year-old building is boarded up and sealed off. Firefighters can still use the station but it will take extensive work to repair the building, fire officials said Sunday.

"Over the next week I'm sure there'll be discussions about how much it costs to fix it and who will pay for it," Fire Capt. Robert Belancik said. "We're just lucky that no one was sitting in that room when the Jeep crashed though because there could have been serious injuries."

The crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. Saturday when a Jeep Wrangler driven by Michael Zakorchevnoy, 26, smashed into the general purpose room at the firehouse. Belancik said it's the room where firefighters normally eat. If anyone had been grabbing a bite to eat, they would likely have been sitting at the dining table against the wall the Jeep crashed through, he said.

Four firefighters were on duty at the time of the crash.

Police said Zakorchevnoy was headed south on Winsted Road when he tried to negotiate a curve. He drove the vehicle over the sidewalk and across the lawn in front of the firehouse before smashing into the brick building.

There is no indication that he attempted to stop the Jeep before it struck the firehouse, Belancik said. The section of the firehouse that Zakorchevnoy struck is located about 75 feet from the road. There are several trees on the lawn that Zakorchevnoy somehow avoided, Belancik said.

Zakorchevnoy and an unidentified passenger walked away from the accident uninjured. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and traveling too fast. His bail was set at $2,500, and he was scheduled to appear in Bantam Superior Court on Feb. 13.

In the meantime, city officials will meet this week to determine how to fix the building, what it will cost and who will pay for it.

"We'll take a harder look at it starting tomorrow," Mayor Ryan Bingham said Sunday. "We need to get together with the corporation counsel and see what we can do to recoup as much of the costs as we can."

Written by The Hartford Courant