A vehicle slammed into a bowling alley in Astoria, Oregon, Saturday night after first striking a light pole, sending the driver to the hospital and forcing an evacuation of the building over structural damage concerns. Emergency crews remained at the scene into the night as officials worked to assess the situation.
An Astoria fire official confirmed the sequence of the crash to KGW, which reported that the vehicle hit the pole before crashing into the building. The bowling alley was identified through viewer video shared with the station, though further details about the business were not available. The driver was taken to a hospital, and the extent of the injuries was not immediately available, per the outlet's report.
Building Evacuated, No Injuries Reported Inside
The building was evacuated because of the structural damage caused by the impact, according to the same report. No one inside the bowling alley was hurt by the crash, even as the building itself sustained enough damage to prompt the evacuation. Officials still needed to determine whether the structure was safe to occupy before it could be returned to its owner, Astoria fire official Crutchfield said.
Emergency crews stayed at the crash scene through Saturday night as the response continued. The cause of the crash has not been established, and no further details about the driver have been released.
Not the First Astoria Building to Face Structural Scrutiny
This is not the first time a building in Astoria has needed an emergency structural assessment. Back in June 2022, a structural failure caused a large portion of the roof at Buoy Beer's original Astoria building to collapse, though the company reported no injuries, according to oregonlive.com. That building was closed and fenced off while local authorities assessed its stability, the outlet reported at the time.
Vehicles crashing into bowling alleys have made headlines elsewhere too. In Cedar City, Utah, a woman was arrested after allegedly crashing her vehicle into the Cedar Bowling Center twice in one night, causing up to $130,000 in damage, KSL.com reported. Police there said responding officers determined the act to be intentional after an initial investigation, though no injuries were reported among people inside that building at the time of the crash.
No such determination has been made in the Astoria case, where the cause remains unclear. For now, the bowling alley remains closed while officials finish evaluating whether it can be safely reopened and returned to its owner.
