Witnesses report seeing the windstorm lift the roof off Vintage Auto Body shop.
LEBANON (AP) – A freak funnel cloud apparently caused an auto body shop to collapse and kill one person Monday, officials said.
Steve McCausland of the Maine Public Safety Department said witnesses reported seeing the windstorm lift the roof off the Vintage Auto Body shop on Route 202, causing it to collapse.
He said investigators determined the incident was not caused by an explosion, as some had initially speculated because the building looked it had exploded.
McCausland said a man who was inside the building was killed, but an employee who ran out of the building and dove under a car escaped injury.
Officials were not releasing the name of the victim.
After the crash, the roof was gone and pieces of insulation were floating through the air, said Lori Durost, a witness.
McCausland said officials contacted the National Weather Service, which had no reports of tornadoes or other severe winds in the area on what was otherwise a calm sunny day.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.