Car crashes into Sarasota County fire station

Assistant Sarasota County Fire Chief Bill Hoag was at Fire Station 11 this morning, assessing damage from a car that crashed into the building Thursday.

Following a three-vehicle accident just east of the intersection of Stickney Point Road and U.S. 41, 56-year-old Diane St Jean drover her 2015 red Chevy Camaro into the the station at roughly 6:25 p.m, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. The vehicle crashed through the parking lot, over shrubs and into a pillar supporting the roof, before coming to a stop in a small stairwell.

Hoag said county engineering staff would soon need to determine the extent of the damages and the building’s structural state. There were no injuries.

“There was just a shock,” Hoag said.

The incident began after Elaine Cotting, a 72-year-old Sarasota resident, pulled into St Jean’s path while trying to turn into the Sarasota Pavilion shopping center. St Jean’s Camaro then struck a Toyota Camry driven by Ellenton resident Alyssa Irizzary, 51, before driving into the fire station.

Charges for those involved are pending, according to the report.