Home Our Diocese Vehicle strikes corner of building at Marydale Retirement Village; resident hospitalized, unit...

Vehicle strikes corner of building at Marydale Retirement Village; resident hospitalized, unit rendered uninhabitable

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A worker surveys the scene after a car struck a building at Marydale Retirement Village on Nov. 22. The resident of the corner unit was taken to a local hospital. No one in the car was injured, according to early reports. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

NEWARK — A resident was taken to a hospital, and a unit at Marydale Retirement Village in Newark has been rendered unlivable after a car slammed into a corner of the building on Nov. 22.

A Delaware State Police trooper and several fire and rescue squads responded to Marydale shortly before noon on Nov. 22. The driver of the car had lost control on Salem Church Road, left the street and penetrated the bedroom wall of the unit on Ellen Devine Drive.

The unidentified resident, an 82-year-old woman, was in the room at the time and was taken to a local hospital. The nature of any injuries was not available Monday afternoon, although  Fritz Jones, the executive director of Catholic Charities, which manages Marydale, said the resident was alert when she left the scene.

Cathy Weaver, Marydale’s administrator, said later Monday afternoon that she met and spoke with the woman’s son, and that she has reached out to the resident, who was still at the hospital.

The damage to the unit was a bit more evident after the vehicle was removed. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

According to Jones, the driver told police she swerved to avoid hitting a car in front of her that had stopped suddenly. Neither the driver nor the children who were in the car were injured. He did not know how many children were in the car.

After the car was removed from the property, Jones was able to see the inside of the apartment. A television in the bedroom had been knocked off its stand, and pieces of drywall were on the bed, which sat in front of the television stand.

The Dialog has contacted the Delaware State Police and will update this story should more information become available.