TouchPoint church crosses damaged in crash and hurricane

Wednesday
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM Dec 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM

Three landmark crosses on Clark Road were struck by a vehicle, a senior pastor said.

Carlos R. Munoz Staff Writer @readcarlos

SARASOTA — Three splintered crosses that lay in front of TouchPoint Community Church, which appeared to be the work of a wayward driver, has Rev. Steve Stogner anxiously awaiting a guardrail that was supposed to go in a month ago.

The unreported crash is believed to have occurred sometime Friday night, but was not reported to police, the senior pastor said.

"It happens a lot here — never that far down the road," Stogner said. "Usually, they don’t navigate the turn that well. We’ve had trees that had been taken out. They’ve come close to hitting the church several times and been in the church pond."

To prevent property damage, the Florida Department of Transportation planned to put in a guardrail to repel vehicles, but the only sign of the work is a flashing construction sign.

"We don’t know," Stogner said.

The church's crosses have taken a beating this year. A cross on the church steeple was blown over during Hurricane Irma and the three 11-foot-tall white crucifixes on the front lawn were landmarks.

"We’re working on trying to get that fixed as well," said Stogner who said the church will pay for repairs out-of-pocket since the hurricane deductible is so high. "We’re not sure what it was going to cost."

Parishioner Roger Beaudry said the crosses had sentimental value. He paid to have spot lights put on them to honor his mother, who was a very religious woman.

"When I emailed my family, they were all upset this happened, too," Beaudry said. "It’s a little bit of our mother. I don’t understand what they accomplished by knocking the cross down."

The pastor said that the damage is unusual, since the crosses are past the bend, but it did not appear to have been done on purpose.

Marks on the road seem to show that the vehicle took a left-hand turn over the sidewalk and a ditch and struck the three crosses at the edge of the pond. One cross fell into the water, but the vehicle did not go in.

"It didn’t stop them. They just kept right on going," Stogner said.

 

 

 

Wednesday
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM Dec 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM

Three landmark crosses on Clark Road were struck by a vehicle, a senior pastor said.

Carlos R. Munoz Staff Writer @readcarlos

SARASOTA — Three splintered crosses that lay in front of TouchPoint Community Church, which appeared to be the work of a wayward driver, has Rev. Steve Stogner anxiously awaiting a guardrail that was supposed to go in a month ago.

The unreported crash is believed to have occurred sometime Friday night, but was not reported to police, the senior pastor said.

"It happens a lot here — never that far down the road," Stogner said. "Usually, they don’t navigate the turn that well. We’ve had trees that had been taken out. They’ve come close to hitting the church several times and been in the church pond."

To prevent property damage, the Florida Department of Transportation planned to put in a guardrail to repel vehicles, but the only sign of the work is a flashing construction sign.

"We don’t know," Stogner said.

The church's crosses have taken a beating this year. A cross on the church steeple was blown over during Hurricane Irma and the three 11-foot-tall white crucifixes on the front lawn were landmarks.

"We’re working on trying to get that fixed as well," said Stogner who said the church will pay for repairs out-of-pocket since the hurricane deductible is so high. "We’re not sure what it was going to cost."

Parishioner Roger Beaudry said the crosses had sentimental value. He paid to have spot lights put on them to honor his mother, who was a very religious woman.

"When I emailed my family, they were all upset this happened, too," Beaudry said. "It’s a little bit of our mother. I don’t understand what they accomplished by knocking the cross down."

The pastor said that the damage is unusual, since the crosses are past the bend, but it did not appear to have been done on purpose.

Marks on the road seem to show that the vehicle took a left-hand turn over the sidewalk and a ditch and struck the three crosses at the edge of the pond. One cross fell into the water, but the vehicle did not go in.

"It didn’t stop them. They just kept right on going," Stogner said.

 

 

 

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