Stolen car carrying several people crashes into doors of Pierce County elementary school
The doors of Centennial Elementary School in Graham were wrecked Thursday morning when the driver of a stolen vehicle crashed into them.
Deputies were dispatched at 4:58 a.m. after 911 callers reported the crash. The callers said they saw two vehicles in the school’s parking lot doing doughnuts and then heard a loud bang, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department in a Facebook post.
Another witness reportedly saw the vehicle crash into the building, and two to three people run out, the post said. They got into another white sedan and drove away.
The car left inside the school had its engine running when deputies arrived. The owner of the car was contacted and confirmed it was stolen sometime overnight from their Spanaway home, the post said.
Surveillance footage showed the people in the car appeared to be young adults or teenagers. They did not search through the school for anything, the post said. The vehicle has since been towed, and the school was open for the day.
Bethel School District is assessing the extent of the damage and will get an estimate for how much repairs will cost, spokesman Douglas Boyles told The News Tribune.
The post said that anyone with information about the incident should contact the Sheriff’s Department or make an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.
It is the second time in the past two months that an alleged stolen car has crashed into a Pierce County school.
A stolen Hyundai sedan crashed into the main doors and fence at Bethel High School on Oct. 1. The engine was running when deputies arrived, but no one was seen near the car, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The car was reportedly stolen from Graham earlier that morning and later was towed from the school.
Boyles said it costed about $15,000 for the door to be repaired.
