Green Brain, Stormy Records Closed For Repairs After Van Hits Building

No, it's not the latest installation of avant-garde art. That's actually a van sticking out of the side of Green Brain Comics.

A vehicle slid into the side of the two-story brick building in east downtown Dearborn Sunday morning. The van made it half-way through the wall and had to be towed out.

The driver was taken away with injuries, although it's unclear how extensively he was hurt.

According to Green Brain owner Dan Merritt, he and his wife and co-owner Katie were woken up at 6 a.m. Sunday by a call from their alarm company, letting them know that the alarm had been tripped at their store, which is located on Michigan Avenue at the corner of Jonathon Street.

Police further informed them that "a vehicle had hit the store," Merritt told Patch.

But when the arrived and saw exactly what that meant, he said, "it was like a cartoon."

Tire tracks in the snow were able to show the path of the van—which was driven by an unknown man with no passengers—before it hit the building.

The van, according to Merritt, had apparently been traveling west on Michigan Avenue when it careened off of the street near the Pizza Hut just east of Jonathon, narrowly missing two light poles and knocking over a fire hydrant before going across the comic book store's parking lot and straight into the brick wall of the building.

The van knocked out a hole in the wall before smashing through the store's water pipes and into their bathroom, also knocking out the interior wall. The force of the crash, Merritt said, was enough that the display case on that wall was pushed to the other side of the store.

Green Brain and second-floor business Stormy Records will remain closed until at least Tuesday, when Merritt said they hope to get a city inspector in to give the building the OK to reopen.

It's unclear how long the repairs will take, but the Merritts shared on Green Brain's Facebook page Sunday that they will reopen as soon as possible—with or without a new wall. Another concern, he added, is that when the pipes were hit, they sprayed water all over the store, soaking the carpet.

Merritt said they have received numerous offers for help, but that they should be all set to reopen as soon as the city inspection is complete.

Watch Dearborn Patch for more details on exactly what caused the crash.