A driver and several animals were killed after a fiery crash at the Brandywine Valley SPCA in New Castle County, Delaware.
The family identifies the driver as a 33-year-old Latoya Cooper, a mother of five.
Juanetta Cooper, Latoya's mother, tells Action News she received a call from authorities soon after the crash.
"She went through the stop sign and must have kept going through. I just was bawling," Juanetta Cooper said.
It happened around 12:15 a.m. Sunday on the 800 block of South Street in New Castle.
Officials say the driver lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the building; the impact of the crash resulted in a fire.
Emergency personnel and volunteers removed 100 animals from the burning building.
Two cats needed emergency veterinary care; one died from its injuries, and the other is being treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
Two other cats lost their lives in the fire. The other animals have been relocated to temporary housing and are being examined by medical personnel.
A total of 98 animals, 36 cats and 62 dogs, were moved to other locations.
Most of the drunk-related (or DUI crashes) occur in the early a.m. hours, like this one here.
The fire was extinguished within a half hour, but it severely damaged the veterinary clinic inside the structure.
Smoke and water also caused damage to the shelter section of the building.
SPCA officials say they are incredibly thankful for the rapid response from firefighters and neighbors who saved the surviving animals.
The facility will be closed for an undetermined period of time, pending a building inspection and possible subsequent cleanup and repairs.
This same SPCA branch recently agreed to take on animals from lower Delaware while the facility there expands.
Police have not yet determined what caused the driver to crash into the building.
The BVSPCA say they need the community's help during this crisis. Officials say anyone who has been thinking of adopting should visit one of their other adoption locations: the Georgetown, Del., campus; the PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center in Dover, Del.; or the West Chester, Pa. campus. Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The BVSPCA says financial donations are also needed to help with the additional cost to care for the animals and the damage to the building.
ONLINE: http://bvspca.org/
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A 33-year-old Delaware woman died early Sunday when her sports utility vehicle crashed through the front of a New Castle animal shelter.
Latoya Cooper, identified by family at the scene, died about 12:15 a.m. Investigators did not immediately give a cause for the crash.
Cooper and three cats at the Brandywine Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal shelter on South Street may have died from smoke and fire that broke out in the moments after the crash.
Cooper's mother came to the crash scene a few hours later and tearfully remembered her daughter, who she said is a mother of five.
"I felt something at two o'clock in the morning. I felt some kind of pain," Cooper's mother said. "Maybe it was her."
Nearly 100 other animals were displaced after the shelter was deemed uninhabitable. SPCA officials said the animals are being temporarily housed in other nearby shelters.
"The BVSPCA needs the community’s help during this crisis," the shelter said in a statement. "Anyone who has been thinking of adopting should visit one of the other BVSPCA adoption locations: the Georgetown, DE, Campus; the PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center in Dover, DE; or the West Chester, PA. Campus, Sunday hours are 10am to 5pm. Financial donations are also needed to help with the additional cost to care for the animals and the damage to the building."