TOLEDO, Ohio — A truck that crashed into a Toledo elementary school while fleeing police early Wednesday destroyed more than just an exterior wall.
Learning materials used by eight-year-old Charlie Niciejewski, who is blind, were also demolished when the pickup truck smashed through a wall and came to rest in a classroom.
"It's not a call that anyone wants to wake up to at 3 a.m., but that's the call we received," Washington Local Schools Superintendent Kadee Anstadt said.
The school closed for the day on Wednesday following the incident, but it will reopen on Thursday after engineers and safety experts have determined the school is structurally sound and repaired the hole.
Some students from the fifth-grade class came out Wednesday afternoon to see the damage for themselves. Charlie learned the equipment he needed to learn alongside everyone else was in pieces.
Stuart James, the executive director of the Ability Center, said Charlie has Batten disease and needs the support of his community.
"It's a very rare disease, so there's not a lot of support there's not a lot of support groups," James said.
The terminal illness took Charlie's sight and will eventually lead to seizures and the inability to walk, James said. And, Charlie is only expected to live into his teen years.
"For the time he's here with us, we want to make it great for him. That's what we are here to do," James said.
James said moments like this highlight the support that the Ability Center can provide.
WLS officials said the organization was the first to donate to an online fundraiser set up by the Washington Local Schools Foundation to help rebuild the classroom. Those interested in donating can do so here.
The effort has inspired many others, like Tim Tegge, to help, too.
"I live with a vision impartment myself, so I know just how important it is to have the tools the magnifiers the things that help me throughout my day," Tegge, the executive director of the Sight Center of Northwest Ohio. "Things like this hit home for me and hit close to home to the Sight Center."
That support means Charlie can go back to school on Thursday with the tools he needs to succeed.
Anstadt said the school has a brailler, which is used to write braille, paper and many other materials en route that will be available for Charlie Thursday.
"So, we know we have a brailer on the way and some paper and any other materials that we need for our friend Charlie we are going to be ready to roll tomorrow," said Kadee Anstadt Superintendent for Washington Local Schools.
Washington Township police were pursuing the driver of the truck, Ryan Hasselbach, after he failed to stop for a traffic stop. Police said Hasselbach was driving at speeds of 90 to 100 mph before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into the school.
Police arrested Hasselbach and charged him with Failure to Comply, Obstructing Official Business and Vandalism. In a report, police estimated the collision caused "an estimated excess of $150,000 in floodwater, structural and ancillary damages."
Hasselbach's bond was set at $50,000. He is due back in Toledo Municipal Court on Friday.