A car crashed into the Tunbridge Hall on Wednesday, narrowly avoiding serious injury to six women who were inside the hall for their sewing group.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The crash occurred about 12.35pm, after a Subaru Outback crashed into hall on the Main Road. Emergency services attended and began work to remove the car from the hall.
Hall treasurer Lorraine Hazelwood said the driver lost control after attempting a U-turn when his foot slipped off the clutch and hit the accelerator.
"It was a very unfortunate accident," she said.
"Six ladies were inside for a sewing group. One lady saw it coming at them and was able to get away with only scratches.
"Another did not see it in time and got stuck under the table. She was taken to hospital for an assessment, but she assured us she was OK."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Tasmania Police confirmed a male driver was treated at the scene by Ambulance Tasmania and taken to hospital for medical assessment.
The hall is community owned and Mrs Hazelwood said it would remain closed until they could get an engineer in to access the damage and seek advice from the Southern Midlands Council.
"We have limited resources as a small town and we haven't got building insurance, but we will endeavour to have it repaired," she said.
"It is totally community funded and we haven't had time to think about how we will raise the funds to fix it."
Southern Midlands Council mayor Alex Green said the council would work with the Tunbridge community, with two council builders helping to secure the building after it was hit.
"We'll definitely work with the community, but nothing has been put to us," he said.
"The preliminary estimate, and it's early days, are $25,000 in damages, which is a lot for a small community.
"We know the markets are very popular there, and we hold a council meeting there once a year, so its a valued piece of the community."
Mr Green said the council had assisted the community in applying for and receiving grants for the hall in the past and would look to do so after the unforeseen accident.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner