A driver lost control of a Subaru Forester in Manhattan, Kansas, late Friday and punched through the front of a building where hitting almost anything inside could get expensive quickly.
The building was the Midwest Dream Car Collection, a nonprofit museum filled with more than 65 vehicles spanning well over a century of automotive history. The collection ranges from an 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen to modern cars, with classics, exotics and unusual machines mixed in.
Security footage captured the Forester breaking through the wall and entering the museum. Several cars were damaged, while the impact left employees arriving to debris and what visitor services and event coordinator Bradli Nowak described to WIBW as a “giant gaping hole” in the building.
The crash was not attributed to drinking, reckless driving or a mechanical failure. A Riley County police spokesman told KMAN that the 58-year-old Manhattan driver suffered a medical episode, lost control and drove through the museum. Police were not investigating the incident further.
Inside The Collection
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Exhibit curator Doug Meloan told WIBW that the first glimpse he got of the damage made him wonder whether there had been an explosion. He headed to the museum after getting the call.
The collection that the Forester entered is not simply a room full of old cars. The museum says it began as a private collection before opening to the public in 2019 and now operates as a nonprofit. Its rotating exhibits include rare vehicles, exotics, customs and historic cars.
One machine drew particular attention in the Facebook comments after footage of the crash circulated: an Amphicar.
That was a useful lead rather than proof of what the crash damaged. The museum’s own vehicle record confirms that its collection includes a 1966 Amphicar Model 770, one of the unusual cars built to operate on both land and water. The museum acquired its Lagoon Blue example in 2020 after an extensive restoration.
Could Have Been Worse
The museum says its Amphicar is more than a static curiosity. In 2021, it took the car to Tuttle Creek for a “test swim,” where it went from land into the lake and back again as designed.
The museum has not publicly identified each vehicle damaged in Friday’s crash, so the presence of the Amphicar in the collection does not establish that it was one of them.
What employees did establish was that multiple cars sustained damage and that they believed the outcome could have been considerably worse. The driver suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening.
First responders also helped secure the damaged building that night. Photos published by KMAN show firefighters constructing a temporary wall while crews dealt with debris and removed the crashed vehicle.
Back Through The Doors
The wreck temporarily closed the museum while employees cleaned up and prepared the building for visitors again.
That interruption was expected to be short. Midwest Dream Car Collection planned to reopen Friday, one week after the crash, and its September calendar still lists Cars & Coffee for Saturday morning.
The museum’s regular collection will give visitors plenty to look at even without knowing exactly which cars needed repairs. Its current vehicle directory includes a Lamborghini Countach, DeLorean DMC-12, 2021 Ford GT, 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle and that amphibious 1966 Model 770.