Georgia Southern students asleep in the Centennial Place dormitory in the middle of the university’s campus were awakened early Saturday morning by an uninvited visitor to the dorm.
Landun Brock of Commerce faces multiple charges, including a DUI for alcohol, after his vehicle plowed into the Centennial Place entrance of Building 4 in the complex about 2 a.m. Saturday. The dormitory is located on Georgia Avenue, across from the University Book Store.
Jennifer Wise, director of Communications for GS, said no one was injured in the incident. However, the 134 students living in the affected building were moved to hotel rooms as a precaution in case the accident had caused any structural damage to the building the vehicle struck.
“We had a structural engineer on site Saturday morning and, after some quick work by our facilities crew, all but 36 students have been allowed back into the building,” Wise said in an email Monday. “We have already located space in other on-campus housing for those 36 students, and housing staff is assisting with moving those students.”
Wise said it is expected to take between six and 10 weeks to fully repair the damage to the dormitory building. Georgia Southern’s winter break begins Dec. 12 and classes resume for the spring semester on Jan. 9. Students forced to leave their Centennial dormitory rooms will stay in other on-campus housing until they can return to Centennial, Wise said.
According to a release from Statesboro Police Capt. Jared Akins, an SPD Patrol officer was located on Chandler Road and headed to a call about a fight on Olympic Blvd. in Statesboro.
“Upon approaching the intersection of Chandler Road and Plant Drive, she observed a dark Chevrolet Impala northbound on Chandler Road driving at a high rate of speed and straddling both lanes of travel,” Akins said. “As the vehicle passed the officer she turned around on the Impala, which had continued northbound on Chandler Road.”
The Impala then turned into the parking lot of Centennial Place Dorms, at which point the officer activated her emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop. By the time she was able to get behind the Impala, it was at the other end of the parking lot directly in front of the entrance to Centennial Place.
Akins said the driver then drove into the exterior wall of the building. The officer, observing the crash, immediately acted to extricate the driver, later identified as Brock, with the assistance of pedestrians who had witnessed the crash.
Brock was transported to East Georgia Regional Medical Center with minor injuries and was later released into the custody of SPD officers.
In addition to the DUI charge, Brock, who Wise said is not a Georgia Southern student, also is charged with reckless driving, giving a false name, address or birthdate to a law enforcement officer, driving without a license, failure to maintain lane and possession of marijuana less than one oz.