Radio Station Stays On The Air After Car Crashes Into Building
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4)- A radio station in Greeley kept broadcasting even after an out-of-control car smashed into the building. Witnesses pulled the driver to safety before the car burst into flames.
"Had I been in there, I wouldn't have, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you right now," said KFKA 1310 AM General Manager Damon Sasso.
Late Sunday night, a car traveling northbound on 11th Avenue in Greeley lost control and crashed into the KFKA building, scattering debris from the car and the building all over the sidewalk and street.
Sasso often stays late to complete paperwork but he wasn't in the station on Sunday night. No one was inside but witnesses were outside and they pulled the driver from the car before it burst into flames.
"As he was pulling him out of the car, he put him on the ground. And as he put him on the ground, the car started to catch fire," said witness Vonshay McCarther.
The fire did not spread to the building, but crews had to stabilize the heavily damaged brick building.
"The amount of debris that was spread across the street was incredible," said Sasso.
The driver was seriously hurt and rushed to the hospital.
Through it all, KFKA stayed on the air.
"A lot of our heart and soul is pumped into it," said Sasso.
Sasso's family has run the local news talk radio station since 2002 hoping to preserve its history. The station is Colorado's first and one of the nation's oldest since broadcasts began in 1921.
"We needed to stay on the air, we needed to be able to continue to do that and provide that community service," said Sasso.
KFKA plans to stay on the air during repairs.
Police continue to investigate what caused the driver to smash into the building.
