NORTHAMPTON — A man suffered minor injuries Wednesday when he crashed his vehicle through a large bush and into the side of the Whiting Energy Fuels building off Barrett Street.

The man, whom officials did not identify, was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital, according to Northampton Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Vanasse.

The car struck and buckled in the wall next to the office of Paul Mantoni, a controller with the company.

“Just a loud thud” was how Mantoni described the crash. “Of course they’re yelling to me, ‘Paul, are you OK?’”

Mantoni said he and others rushed outside to see what had happened. The driver, Mantoni said, had a large cut on his head and mentioned that maybe the gas pedal had been stuck.

Vanasse said the driver was leaving the entrance to the Bluebonnet Diner across Barrett Street from Whiting Energy Fuels.

“We’re not sure what happened from there,” he said.

Police evacuated the building’s employees because of the structural damage the car caused. Northampton Building Commissioner Louis Hasbrouck said the car had hit a pole holding up part of the building, and a temporary brace would have to be put on that pole before anyone could re-enter the structure. Firefighters offered to help employees get their things out of the building.

“We thought there was an accident out there,” Lynn Elliott, a customer service representative at Whiting Energy Fuels, said. “Next thing you know Paul’s roof is coming down!”

Elliott’s husband, Dean, had just arrived at the building to enjoy a sandwich with her when they both heard the crash.

“I took one bite of my sandwich and the next minute the wall is coming down on me,” Dean Elliott said.

Mantoni said it would be a difficult day because the company’s employees couldn’t work if they weren’t allowed into the building. Luckily, he added, summer isn’t their busy season.

“I’ve got to call the insurance company right now,” he said, shrugging.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.

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