Skip to main content

Crash Knocked Part of Hedges Inn Off Foundation

Wed, 11/16/2022 - 18:27
A man fell asleep at the wheel early Wednesday morning and drove his Mercedes sedan into the Hedges Inn in East Hampton Village, causing significant damage.
Durell Godfrey Photos

A livery driver hired for an early morning airport run caught the air meant for his yet to be picked up passengers Wednesday when he fell asleep and drove into the Hedges Inn. The driver was given a breathalyzer exam but was not under the influence of alcohol. 

He was “banged up, though,” and transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, said East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who visited the crash site early.

At 4:40 a.m., according to Jenny Lilja, the innkeeper, who was not there when it happened, the driver was at the wheel of a 2018 Mercedes sedan — “The thing was a tank,” she said — headed east on Woods Lane when he drove through the light where Woods Lane meets Main Street. The car smashed through the white picket fence in front of the inn and into the historic building, ending up in bushes between two patios on its south side.

“It's the most intrusive accident at the Hedges I've ever seen,” said Mayor Larsen. “Somehow he missed the fire pit. He went between a bench and a light pole, veered left, and went up the steps.”

“He must have gotten airborne and somehow got up the steps.”

“Pieces of the porch are on the roof,” said Ms. Lilja. “He took out two posts of our awning and two lampposts. He snapped a big footing off the deck. He knocked the whole house off its foundation. We have a structural engineer coming to make sure it's all shored up.”

The Hedges Inn is currently closed for the season, she said. “We were set to start renovating in December. Looks like we'll be starting a little earlier.”

The Mercedes looked bad, but the driver reportedly sustained only minor injuries. East Hampton Village Police

The inn, at 74 James Lane, has been the location of numerous car accidents through the years. A decade ago, the village discussed planting a swale to protect the building, but the suggestion was ultimately tabled. 

Things could have been worse. Woods Lane used to extend all the way to James Lane. Perhaps the grass and brick walkway that now connect the two slowed the driver somewhat.

 

Long Days on the Fire Line In Orange County

East Hampton and Amagansett firefighters volunteered to head north last week to help fight a 5,000-acre wildfire in Orange County, N.Y., not once but twice, battling unfamiliar terrain to do so. “They fight fires completely differently than we do when we have a brush fire,” the Amagansett chief said.

Nov 21, 2024

Awards for Good Policing in Handgun Scuffle

“It could have gone worse. We’re lucky that I have officers here that weren’t shot,” said Police Chief Jeff Erickson at Friday’s East Hampton Village Board meeting. Chief Erickson was recognizing Sgt. Wayne Gauger and Officers John Clark and Robbie Greene for a traffic stop on Aug. 31 that turned into a scuffle and the eventual confiscation of an illegal gun.

Nov 21, 2024

On the Police Logs 11.21.24

A Three Mile Harbor Drive resident reported an online dating scam on the afternoon of Nov. 16. Somehow, said the 80-year-old man, a person on the dating platform had gotten his phone number and demanded $2,000 from him, threatening to tell his family he was using the site if he did not comply. Police told the man to block the number.

Nov 21, 2024

Head-On Collision on Route 27

A 2-year-old was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital following a head-on collision Saturday afternoon on State Route 27 near Upland Road in Montauk.

Nov 21, 2024

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.