Man charged after truck crashes into media center at Burgaw Middle School

PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - A truck crashed into the media center at Burgaw Middle School late Tuesday night, May 30.

According to a school representative, the truck broke a wall and damaged a number of computers and some equipment in the media center. A Pender County Schools announcement on the same day noted that the crash didn’t cause issues to the building’s water or power services. Nobody was injured, and crews began cleanup Wednesday morning.

The Burgaw Police Department says that Pender EMS, Pender Fire and the Burgaw Fire Department responded to the scene to assist with the incident. Police say the driver, 41-year-old Johnathan Richard Franklin from Burgaw, didn’t report any injuries due to the collision.

Per the BPD, Franklin was arrested and 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 duly erected stop sign.

Police say he was taken into custody on the scene without resistance and given a $1,000 secure bond. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

“Pender County Schools 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,” an announcement from Pender County Schools states.

Students in school for testing continued their work as normally scheduled. The temporary wall was completed Wednesday afternoon.

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