Update 5 p.m.
A truck driven by a 79-year-old man from Florida on Thursday slammed into the 120-year-old Roots House, which sits on the historic Belmont Estate in Falmouth.
He injured his hand and is expected to be OK, but now officials at the University of Mary Washington, owners of the estate, are now wrangling estimating what the damage costs will be.
University spokesman George Farrar says the house sits near the Belmont mansion but is not a main portion of the estate, and sits closer to the intersection with Warrenton Road (U.S. 17) and Washington Street in Falmouth.
The estate recently underwent a restoration that was funded by private funding, said Farrar. Plans are for that restoration to continue.
Update 1:20 p.m.
One man was injured this morning when he drove his truck into a house located at the Belmont Estate.
The victim in the crash, 79-year-old James Tiches from Stuart, Fla., was on his way to Colonial Beach when he crashed into the historic building.
Stewart told PotomacLocal.com he’s not sure how the crash happened, only to say it happened so fast it was difficult to prevent.
Tiches injured his hand the accident.
The crash happened just after 10 a.m. today, at a small outer house that sits outside the larger plantation house. The small house was believed to have been built about 1890, officials said.
The historic property is owned by the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. No one from the school was immediately available for comment.
The plantation house remained open to visitors today despite the crash.
-K.J. Mushung
Original Post 10:30 a.m.
Falmouth, Va. –– Fire and rescue crews have been called to the Belmont Estate on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Falmouth after a car reportedly slammed into a small building on the estate grounds.
The building is separate from the mansion itself, which has not been damaged, a spokeswoman for the estate told PotomacLocal.com.
The estate remains open to the public at this hour.
Calls to Stafford Fire and Rescue for additional information were not immediately returned.
We’ll bring you more details on this as soon we get it.
