BECKLEY, W.Va (WOAY) – At around 4:27 a.m. on Thursday morning, Beckley Police received a call about a car crashing into Temple Beth El, the Jewish temple in Uptown Beckley.
The car did significant damage but by this morning, a construction worker already had the hole patched up. After looking at the police report, Temple Beth El President Tom Sopher says the woman driving the car was not under any influence at the time and that the driver lost control. She stayed on the scene after the accident.
“When you get the knock on the door at 6:30 in the morning by the police you know it’s not going to be a good thing, so you know, it was all racing through my head like where they hit the building, what was going to happen, how it was developing and then you get there and it’s like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Sopher did say they have contacted their insurance company and will go from there. The building has been secured and regular services will continue as the car crashed into their fellowship hall and not the sanctuary.