Crash in front of Downtown Home and Garden caused no damage to businesses
Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com
It was the crash heard 'round Bill's Beer Garden on Friday night — but according to part owner Mark Hodesh, "not much actually happened."
Hodesh said the actual hit happened in front of the Home and Garden parking lot, which technically is Bill's Beer Garden.
Two pedestrians standing on the north-west corner of Ashley and Liberty streets were hit by one of what they observed to be a two-car accident, but did not sustain any serious injuries.
Paul Parkanzky said he and his wife Audrey were both struck by a car and thrown in opposite directions. He said neither of them were run over after being thrown. He said although there was great potential for very serious injury, he and his wife were both OK.
"We went to the hospital and got checked out," Parkanzky said. "We have some crazy bruises and scratches, and we're pretty sore today but somehow not seriously injured."
Hodesh, who also owns Downtown Home and Garden, 213 S. Ashley St., said although he wasn't there, he received many reports from staff and witnesses about the incident.
"I discovered it when I came to work this morning so I was surprised," Hodesh said.
Ann Arbor Police did report to the incident, but there was no information available from them as of 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Hodesh said it looked like the car was going west on Liberty, and from what he's been told, no one was significantly injured. Onlookers said it appeared to be caused by traffic conditions and unrelated to alcohol.
No property damage was done to either of Hodesh's businesses, but he said there was damage to a telephone pole and it "sheared off" one of the Liberty and Ashley crossroad sign.
"I heard it was a loud noise, but no damage to us," Hodesh said, "It was kind of close, and it looked very dramatic, but no one got hurt and it wasn't that big of a deal at the end of the day."
Comments
jordan75
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 7:43 p.m.
Two pedestrians and a wall are hit by a car. AnnArbor.com chooses the headline "Wall unharmed!" Should I be ashamed for laughing out loud at this dangerous event? Is this supposed to be satire?
pegret
Wed, Oct 31, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.
I find it a little odd that with so many eyewitnesses to the accident, the only person apparently interviewed and quoted in this story happened to be Mark Hodesh, who wasn't even there.
Susie H.
Mon, Oct 29, 2012 : 11:47 p.m.
Good to know patrons of bill's beer garden are safe from cars because it is surrounded by brick walls
Susie H.
Mon, Oct 29, 2012 : 11:44 p.m.
It's strange that AnnArbor.com didn't talk to any eyewitnesses, since there were plenty of us around. There were definitely two cars involved, one shattered the wood lamppost before striking the young man and woman head-on and then hitting the wall and the other car managed to swerve to avoid hitting the couple but crashed into the corner of the wall and knocked out the metal walk sign. It looked super traumatic, car didn't swerve at all, I'm so glad no one was killed!
mady
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 7:19 p.m.
Did it wake Lewis(the big yellow store cat)up?
bubba1111
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 5 p.m.
There is no content in this article. It's generic writing. Mostly seems like an advert for Bill's Beer garden.
Jim S.
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
The two people hit by the cars are friends of mine—they're okay, but surprisingly glossed over here. I'll let them know they rated comments, at least.
Cole Bertsos
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 5:01 p.m.
Jim S. - Thank you for your comment. I just spoke with Paul Parkanzky, and his wife Audrey, who were the two people hit by the cars. I'm adding in some information to this story with their input. Luckily, they are both OK!
Phil Johnston
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 3:04 a.m.
I saw two pedestrians, male and female, struck by the car, thrown into the air and possibly pinned against the brick wall. The female was screaming her head off. They were taken away in an ambulance. No word on if they were OK? Happy to hear that there was no damage to businesses.
actionjackson
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 2:33 a.m.
Very scary--keeping up with Halloween tradition.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:03 p.m.
first of all, there were two cars involved. I drove by when the police and fire trucks were there. As I drove by, I saw two cars off the road and on the sidewalk by home & gardens. I was wondering if maybe some damage had been done to the wall on the corner of home & gardens. But there were definitely two cars involved in the accident.
Ricardo Queso
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:44 p.m.
With a county wide transit system accidents like this would not exist.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:04 p.m.
don't feed the trolls...
RunsWithScissors
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 5:07 p.m.
A county-wide transit system does not eradicate cars or car accidents. It's not the panacea that you think it is.
JRW
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:23 p.m.
Obviously speed or recklessness was involved. Accidents like this don't just happen and cause a street sign to be sheered off for no reason (caused by traffic conditions? what does that mean?). There was property damage and the perps drove off, apparently. No mention of arrests or tickets or those responsible owning up to it. How do onlookers know it was not related to alcohol? Utility poles are not damaged by vehicles due to "traffic conditions." It is ludicrous to offer this as a reason. Those responsible need to admit it and pay fines or pay for the damage.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:28 p.m.
Thanks Melissa, for filling in the holes that this article didn't address. Yeah, people turning from the wrong lane on that intersection is asking for a lot of trouble. There are four lanes on ashley at that intersection the two outside lanes are dedicated turn lanes. Properly ticketed, glad no one was injured. When I drove by, that was my first hope, that no one was injured. (Not "I hope the perps are made to pay!", what a curmudgeonly attitude.)
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:22 p.m.
and this nonsense about 'how do onlookers know it was not related to alcohol?" is absolutely ridiculous. AnnArbor.com uses police reports for their stories. Get with it, man! Your assumptions and comments make no sense.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:14 p.m.
nobody 'drove off', JRW. You might wish to discover something called 'facts' before making assumptions. Just because there were no vehicles in the picture related to the article doesn't mean anybody "drove off". And no, it isn't "obvious" that speed or recklessness was invovled. Once again, give your imagination a rest and deal with facts. There were two vehicles involved, there were two vehicles on the NW corner that destroyed the sign that was SHEARED off and the pole that was bent and the traffic signal that was damaged. It is NOT ludicrous to offer traffic conditions as a reason. Accidents happen. That particular intersection is usually busy on a Friday night. Anythiing could've happened to cause an accident and a lot of those 'anythings' don't particularly have anything to do with speed or recklessness. Please consider these things before posting such trash in the comments section and embarrassing yourself. BTW, "Those responsible need to admit it and pay fines or pay for the damage."????? Really? Attitudes like that contribute greatly to the problems we have in our society today. I hope that never happens to you when you find yourself unfortunate enough to be subject to an accidental collision. Again, you make assumptions about even the light pole that are unsubstantiated and more of an opinion (and a poor one at that) than an actual fact. and it amazes me to no end that five people found your comment worthy of an 'up' vote. You've got a brain, use it for something positive.
laura wolf
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 5:28 p.m.
thanks melissa for being such a good reporter. those turn from the wrong lane drivers scare me all the time.
Melissa Lindholm
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:42 p.m.
As an eyewitness, it appeared to be driver error. One car tried to make a left turn onto Liberty from the middle lane of S Ashley and there happened to be a car next to it. There was lots of traffic moving in front of, around and behind the accident, nobody was speeding. (We were going about 25mph and we were behind them). They didn't just drive off. Police came and tickets were issued, etc. It was a crazy thing to see, let me tell you! If I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it either!
Melissa Lindholm
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:20 p.m.
As an eyewitness to the accident in a car directly behind the crash, it was indeed very scary! Two pedestrians were narrowly missed as they jumped out of the way of the two cars barreling towards them up on the sidewalk. They luckily jumped correctly and landed in a small triangle of land between the two cars. I still can't get the female pedestrian's screams out of my head.
DMBE
Mon, Oct 29, 2012 : 3:34 p.m.
Bear - Screaming is a useless action? I'd think it's a reaction to a car hitting you. I can't imagine someone in that situation not screaming. How unkind!
Phil Johnston
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 3:20 a.m.
I saw the accident and the two pedestrians were hit by the car. One car did go past the telephone pole and strike the wall of Home & Gardens. It knock over a concrete trash can too.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:20 p.m.
Also, 'barrelling seems a sort of exaggeration. They didn't even strike the wall of Home & Gardens which is just about 3-4 feet beyond where the telephone pole that was damaged is. I was wondering if there were any pedestrians involved in the mess.
Bear
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 11:17 p.m.
As an eyewitness, I'm curious as to your account as to how the accident unfolded. Did you stick around to give a report? I hate it when people scream; such a useless action in most cases.
walktheplank
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:19 p.m.
It's spelled Hodesh. As in Mark Hodesh.
Brad
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 3:58 p.m.
Yes people - all of Mark's Carts are safe. We can all breathe easier now.
Phil Johnston
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 : 7:03 p.m.
Talk about burying the lede! The image of two pedestrians being hit by two cars crashing into the sidewalk and a wall has been seared into my mind. The most horrific scene I have ever personally witnessed. I come here looking for information on their status and the first paragraph is a flippant statement that "not much actually happened". Thank you for finally reporting on the actual story. I am happy to hear that everyone is OK. Thank you!
Kyle Mattson
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:17 p.m.
Thankfully no beer was harmed in the accident GoNavy, unless that is a patron at a the garden happened to spill some from the sound of the crash.
GoNavy
Sat, Oct 27, 2012 : 4:07 p.m.
What about all of the beer? Is it safe as well?