A 35-year-old Berwyn man was taken to the hospital with what police called non-life threatening injuries after his car struck another vehicle while eastbound on Ogden Avenue and then crashed through the west wall of the building at 9221 Ogden Ave., Brookfield, at about 1:35 p.m. on Oct. 26.
The impact of the crash sent bricks and shards of glass from a mirrored wall flying at least 30 feet across the inside of the storefront, which houses Galloping Ghost Productions, the videogame development arm of the Brookfield-based arcade game business.
“It was just thunderous,” said Doc Mack, owner of Galloping Ghost, who was in his office inside the building when the crash occurred. “I didn’t have any idea what out here could be making that noise.”
Mack and the development company’s eight employees emerged from their offices to find the front end of a black 2014 Hyundai Elantra wedged in a car-size hole in the west wall. Bricks, glass and other debris, including water from two 5-gallon water-cooler jugs that were thrown across the room by the impact, were scattered throughout the room.
It’s very common for employees to be in the large open area, which has weight-lifting equipment, tables and other furniture in it. Earlier in the day, Mack was doing sit-ups in the exercise space, and just 10 minutes before the crash, said Mack, employees were taking pictures of a one-of-a-kind videogame cabinet near the front door.
“Normally, we’re all out here on our phones,” Mack said.
That game cabinet panel, on loan from comic book artists Alex Ross, featured prototype artwork for a game that was never released. It was the only example of the artwork that existed. And though the panel got knocked over, it came out of the crash basically unscathed.
“Fortunately, it was not damaged,” Mack said. “There’s no way to replace this.”
The impact of the crash shifted the wall near the front door so much that the door no longer could be opened.
Mack said he ran outside to check on the condition of the driver and was able to talk to him.
“He said he was fine right away,” said Mack, who added the vehicle’s airbags had deployed.
According to Brookfield police, the Hyundai was traveling eastbound in the curb lane when it rear-ended a 2013 Honda driven by a 21-year-old Brookfield woman. After striking the other car, the Hyundai veered off the roadway and struck the building.
Police cited the driver of the Hyundai for failure to reduce speed to avoid and accident. No one was seriously injured, but the driver of the Hyundai was taken to Loyola University Medical Center for evaluation. Police described him as confused and appearing to have difficulty understanding questions.
Paul Trudeau, Brookfield’s building inspector, the crash had compromised the 12-inch thick brick wall. However, the wall has been shored up and the building remains in use. That area of the building has been cordoned off both inside and outside, and the wall will need to be rebuilt.
