ORANGE CITY, Fla. — We now know how a driver ended up crashing into an extended stay hotel, displacing close to 60 people.
The crash happened Tuesday at the Heritage Inn in Orange City on Volusia Avenue.
The driver is not facing charges. Police said he was moving his steering wheel side to side to try to drain water from the bed of his truck when he rammed into the building.
The hotel said I had to pay a daily rate to stay there.
“I just bought my mom’s groceries for the month; there’s $400 worth of food in the freezer thawing out right now,” said Seth Bradley.
The Red Cross opened a shelter at the First Presbyterian Church in New Smyrna Beach, but it was too far for some families to travel. Seth Bradley was able to get a hotel room nearby, but said many of his neighbors were forced to sleep in their cars overnight.
“So, we pay what like 50 dollars a day here, but nobody here can afford 300 dollars a night,” said Bradley.
The truck went through the part of the building where all the utilities are located, and the owners say both the electric and plumbing are out. It’s not clear how long the property will be considered unsafe.
While the city is working to find people a more permanent solution, Bradley believes the Heritage Inn should also offer compensation.
“Refusal to give money back that they just paid rent that morning, and then refusal to give the money back even though they can’t stay in the building, that’s lawsuits,” said Bradley.
Some people staying here have been able to get back in and get their stuff, but not everyone. Police tell me the driver of the truck wasn’t impaired or having any kind of medical episode when the crash happened.
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