Arlington Hts. lawyer describes car crash into his building

John Biestek has at least four meetings a day in his Arlington Heights law office’s library conference room, and Thursday morning he was headed in that direction again.

But then his assistant stopped to talk to him.

“And then we heard what sounded like a tremendous explosion,” Biestek said. “Geez, was it loud.”

Biestek and his staff ran to the library, where a silver BMW had come to rest after running through the building’s brick wall. The female driver was pinned in the car, and blood was all over her air bags, Biestek said.

Authorities say the crash happened about 11 a.m. when the BMW and an SUV collided at Arlington Heights Road and Miner Street, causing the BMW to hit the one-story commercial building on the southeast corner.

The driver of the BMW was extricated from the car and taken to the hospital with minor injuries, firefighters said. There were no injuries to anyone in the building or standing on the street corner, but the building has significant damage, said Cmdr. Pete Ahlman of the Arlington Heights Fire Department.

How the crash occurred wasn’t know Thursday afternoon and police didn’t offer further details.

Ira Taubin, an insurance agent at the Allstate office in the same building, said he and his co-workers heard the crash loud and clear when it happened.

“We heard it more than felt it,” Taubin said.

All employees in the building were asked to evacuate. They were allowed to return when the car was removed from the building and it was deemed structurally safe, Taubin said.

Biestek owns the office building at 115 N. Arlington Heights Road, and he leases space to three other tenants.

Streets were reopened shortly after the crash, but sidewalks near the building remained closed until a board-up crew came to the building.