'We were very fortunate': Museum open after car crashes into building

A car took out an iron gate and crashed Thursday night into a building at the B&O Railroad Museum.Baltimore police confirmed to 11 News late Friday afternoon that the driver may have been under the influence of a substance.The crash left loose bricks, insulation, debris and twisted metal strewn across the property after a car crashed through an outbuilding at the museum.Police said crews extricated the driver and took him to Shock Trauma with non-life-threatening injuries. At last check Friday, the driver was in stable condition.Museum officials told 11 News nothing like this has ever happened at the museum, and they hope the driver is OK in his recovery."Hopefully, he's going to recover," said Kris Hoellen, the museum's executive director."Fortunately, the building that got damaged on our property is not a historic building, and it doesn't contain any collections. So, we were very fortunate that way," Hoellen told 11 News. "I'm very pleased that it was at night when nobody was in the building."All of the main exhibits were open Friday, but the backyard was temporarily blocked off with bicycle racks as crews worked to shore up the building and replace the gate."It's business as usual for us. We're fortunate in that we do have 40 acres. We have a lot of space, a lot of buildings, and if it had to happen, this was the best building because it doesn't affect visitor experience," Hoellen told 11 News. "The beautiful 1884 roundhouse is fully intact."The vehicle came within feet of stanchions, heavy equipment, a rail car and the cafe."It was just the luck of fate that he had a straight shot and he kept going through the gate, he went through our roll-up door and pushed all the way to the other side," Hoellen told 11 News.There was no damage to outdoor exhibits or play spaces, which were cleared Friday of debris and will reopen on Saturday."Next week, a demolition crew will come and get all of the big pieces out of the way so that it's all gone, and then we will restore the building," Hoellen told 11 News.