SUV hits side of Iowa City business

Liberty Tax Service in Iowa City uses a person dressed in a Statue of Liberty costume to wave customers into its business. They probably never had this in mind.

Officers were dispatched to the business at 601 Hollywood Blvd. at 9:43 a.m. today for a report that a vehicle had run into the front wall of the building. Upon arrival, police found a white sport-utility vehicle had crashed into a brick wall at the front of the business.

Melissa Frost, owner of Liberty Tax Service, said she and all of her employees were toward the back of the building when the crash occurred.

“Originally we thought it was a our popcorn machine that fell and we came out and realized that a car had driven through the wall at the front of our office,” she said. “Luckily we didn't have anybody in our front office.”

Frost said there are people working on stabilizing the portion of the building that was affected and they plan to keep the business open for the day.

An employee at Little Caesar's Pizza, next door to Liberty Tax, said he believed the crash to be a case of the man thinking the vehicle was in reverse, but was instead in drive.

According to the Iowa City arrest log, Samuel J. Allen, 24, of 337 Camden Road, was arrested for driving while barred at the same address around the same time the accident was reported.

Police said there were no injuries in the incident.