SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A vehicle crashed into a day care along Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls on Wednesday morning.
KELOLAND News spoke with Truks-N-Trykes 2 Daycare owner Jeremy Cotton, who said than no staff, children or parents were injured when a parent drove through the front of the building.
“We had a parent that went through the front of our daycare center. Nobody was hurt — kids were luckily in their classrooms,” said Cotton.
While there were no physical injuries reported, emotions were running high.
“Everyone’s a little shook up,” said Cotton. “We’ve had some parents coming in that are visibly shaken. Nobody wants to hear a call that says, you need to come and get your kid. There’s been an accident at the daycare.”
The portion of the building the vehicle crashed into was the stairwell, which also served as the library. Cotton said he believed the driver had hit the wrong pedal on their car.
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Cotton said parents had been alerted via their daycare app.
Multiple firefighters and police were at the scene. Photos from the incident show the vehicle and the side of the day care. Firefighters were using a ladder in response to the crash.
In terms of the impact of the crash, Cotton said parents should brace for a period of closure.
“We’ve got people coming out to make sure that the building is structurally sound, but for right now, it looks like we may be closed for this week,” Cotton said.
Truks-N-Trykes has multiple locations around the area. Cotton and his wife own the Truks-N-Trykes brand, and two of the locations in town. They license the name out to the other locations.
In terms of child care, Cotton said they will be looking to see what they can do to potentially move kids around to other locations while Truks-N-Trykes 2 is closed.
“We are in contact with the State of South Dakota and DSS and making sure that if we can move kids just temporarily to other locations, that we are able to do that,” said Cotton.
Cotton was sure to highlight the staff’s role throughout the incident. “The staff is amazing,” he said. “Everybody’s healthy, everybody’s safe, and like I said, the staff is amazing.”
