Congregants initially thought it was a bomb when a wall of the sanctuary exploded at Crossroads United Methodist Church Sunday, showering shards of stained glass on those nearby.
It actually was a Toyota Corolla driven by an elderly congregant that smashed its way fully into the church at 1100 S. Hague Ave. before coming to a stop. Six of the roughly 100 people at the West Side church's service were transported to the hospital with cuts and other injuries. All are in stable condition, said Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin.
"I didn't see anything. I just went with the flow. It slid us across the aisle," said Marie Winnestaffer, who was sitting in a pew that was struck by the car. "It felt like a bomb."
The pastor, Rev. Jay D. Anderson, said the group was about 15 minutes into the 10:30 a.m. service, singing a hymn when the wreck occurred.
"Suddenly that wall just exploded," he said, standing in the parking lot as Columbus firefighters prepared to extract the car from the gaping hole in the side of the church. "There were pieces of glass flying and then you saw the car come through."
Nurses and an emergency medical technician immediately attended to the injured, while Anderson got congregants to move to the other side of the sanctuary. He led them in a prayer — both to calm them down and to pray for the injured. Then Anderson got those who weren't injured to go to the church's Fellowship Hall.
"There's no manual for this," Anderson said.
Marsha McClure said she was glad she was running late Sunday morning. Otherwise she likely would have been sitting in the path of the car when it crashed into the building.
"It was an explosion," she said. "They hit the sound system and the stained glass window blew out. It sounded like the cannon at the Blue Jackets games."
Given the attacks on houses of worship in recent years, it's understandable that some at the service initially thought they were under attack. Anderson said congregants were somewhat relieved to see that Sunday's event was accidental.
Some of the congregants said the driver of the car was a 92-year-old woman, but they declined to give her name. Columbus police didn't immediately identify the driver, either.
Anderson said that Sunday's congregation was unusually large because a choir cantata was scheduled and the church had many visitors. The cantata has been rescheduled for next Sunday's 10:30 a.m. service. The church also will hold its Christmas Eve service at 7 p.m. Monday in the Fellowship Hall, Anderson said.
As first responders wheeled the injured to waiting ambulances, shaken congregants stood in groups in the parking lot, trying to process what they'd just seen.
"This is one Christmas we won't forget," one of them, Ron Brown, said.
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