BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Chase bank branch went up in flames in Bloomingdale last night after a car slammed into the building.
Police said a woman who was pulling out of the drive-through of the bank on the 100 block of East Lake Street may have inadvertently hit the gas instead of the brake.
Her SUV hit a gas meter and breached a brick wall.
"She was using the drive-through, and it sounds like she was starting to exit - and for some reason, the brakes didn't work, or inadvertently hit the wrong pedal," Frank Giammarese, director of public safety for the Village, told CBS 2. "Thank God no one else was inside the bank at that time at that point, or no one was in close proximity, so we were lucky with the time aspect."
The 2-inch line that was severed sent gas into the bank, feeding the resulting fire for hours. Witness Eric Kowalik also spoke to CBS 2.
"The odds of this happening just right from the ATM and into a gas line are pretty extraordinary, so the car must have hit just at the right moment - and you know, here we are."
The bank had just closed. Noone was injured.
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