A large hole in the side of a church in Westbrook, Maine, is now covered in plywood after a car drove through the walls of a room in that building Sunday.
According to Gary Wagner, assistant fire chief for the City of Westbrook, a boy who is roughly 10 years old was behind the wheel of the car at the time.
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"As best as we can tell, this is a situation where a minor got control of the parents’ car keys," he told NECN/NBC 10 Boston during an interview on Tuesday.
Wagner said that officials believe the boy "was probably showing off to some friends and lost control of the vehicle."
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"The young man behind the wheel was not familiar with how to operate a vehicle as you would expect a minor of his age to be able to do and probably was quite able to control the car the way you would hope somebody behind the wheel would," he added.
Asked about a broader message for the public following the incident, Wagner replied that parents should make sure they keep an eye on car keys and that this type of situation can unfold quickly.
He also noted that similar incidents occur with more frequency across the country than many people realize.
In this case, no one was hurt, and the room the car hit on Sunday was not occupied.
"The situation could’ve been far worse," Wagner said, explaining that behind one of the walls "was a gas man which was also struck by the vehicle, and electrical wires were also forced forward and unsheathed."
On Tuesday, debris from the crash remained in the parking lot of the church.
The city’s code enforcement department is now determining how safe the structure of the damaged room is.
NECN/NBC 10 Boston left a voicemail for the church to get the latest on repairs but did not receive an immediate response.
