Car Crashes Into Building in Downtown Duluth After Losing Brakes

There was a car accident this morning on the West 100 Block of First Street in Downtown Duluth. WDIO reports that the crash happened about 7:30am. A 1997 Chevrolet Suburban was traveling down 2nd Ave West when the driver said he lost his brakes. The vehicle then turned East on first street and struck a building, causing significant damage. The street is currently closed off to traffic.

This is less than a block away from our studios, so I went over to take a few pictures. The suburban crashed into the storefront of "Reimagined by T. Underwood." Officials are now assesing the structural damage to the building. As you can see in the photos the truck took out a corner of the front, before the rest of the vehicle likely swung over and took out the entire glass section.

I'm not an expert crash investigator of course, but it would make sense that the suburban narrowly missed the tree, struck the building, and then the momentum swung the back of the vehicle into the shop. How else would this vehicle be perfectly slid into the store and miss that tree? If you look closely on the ground, you can see tire marks from the crash. This truck had to be going at a good speed. I talked to a man who lived just a block away and said the noise of the crash woke him up.

If the driver had not turned off, he would have headed straight into the Superior Street Reconstruction project where workers had already began their workday.

We don't know the extent of the injuries of the driver at this time. Fortunately nobody else was injured in this crash.