BURGAW — Crews are clearing the wreckage from a car that crashed into Burgaw Middle School Tuesday night, causing extensive damage to the exterior wall of the school’s media center.
Around 11:20 p.m., the Burgaw Police Department were dispatched to the school, where they found a white Ford truck partially inside the media center.
The driver was Jonathan Richard Franklin, 41, a Burgaw resident. He reported no injuries and the vehicle was removed from the building. Franklin is charged with operating a motor vehicle while subject to an impairing substance, failure to decrease speed as necessary to avoid a collision, and failing to stop at a stop sign.
Franklin was arrested on scene without resistance, processed, and taken in
front of a Pender County magistrate and given a $1,000 secured bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for July 25 at 9 a.m. at the Pender County Courthouse.
According to a Pender County Schools press release, no injuries were reported and the accident did not compromise power or water. The district is in the process of installing a temporary wall to secure the building. PCS will seek quotes to permanently fix the damage, currently there is no timeline for the permanent repairs.
District spokesperson Bob Fankboner said he did not have a cost estimate for the damage, but noted several desk top computers, bookshelves, books, and tables damaged. However, the media center was scheduled for new flooring so many books had already been removed. The school has cordoned off most of the media center so that we can still distribute Chromebooks to students who are at school this week for retesting, which is taking place as normal.
He also noted Burgaw Middle classes ended on May 26 so student use of the media center is not affected.
The temporary wall was completed Wednesday afternoon.
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