Several people were injured one Friday evening when a car struck and destroyed the front steps of the 135-year-old Tallman Bible Church on Route 59. Police believed the 6:30 p.m. crash might have resulted from a street race, with an investigation pending.
At least two people were believed taken to Good Samaritan Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Tallman Fire Chief Chris Szklany said the silver Infiniti that struck the church held five people, at least one believed to be a teenager. A second car, a black Lexus with apparently one occupant, sustained heavy driver’s-side damage and came to rest in the roadway; whether the cars were racing each other wasn’t clear.
Officials from the Town of Ramapo and Village of Airmont examined the church afterward, taking care around the severely damaged, unstable overhang above the shattered stone steps. The church’s pastor, Rev. Joseph J. Bove, inspected the damage and said the congregation was thankful that, as far as they knew, everyone had walked away and no one had lost their life.