This church has the worst luck.
A man smashed his SUV into a storm-damaged Rockaways church that has already recently been renovated twice—before and after Hurricane Sandy.
The driver, 49, lost control of his gold Toyota Land Cruiser and plowed into the corner of the Arvene Pilgrim Church on Beach Channel Drive near 75th Street shortly before 3 a.m., authorities said. He drove through the men and women’s bathrooms.
The church had revamped those facilities before the superstorm, and then restored them after Sandy.
“Private donations brought us this far. Our funds have run out,” said Pastor Dennis Loncke, 55. “I almost cried.”
Sandy relief volunteers had used the church as a staging area since November. They also helped remove mold from the building, and gutted and rebuilt the church.
“This is a huge setback,” said Ian Schlake, 29, director of field operations for the nonprofit Respond and Rebuild. “This is going to take a long time to repair.”
Loncke said that after crashing, the man kept trying to start the car. “The whole engine was crushed, but he’s trying,” he said.
Police said the man was driving with a suspended license. He was treated at Jamaica Hospital for minor injuries.