A car struck the Davis Library on Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda on Tuesday afternoon, hitting the building’s gas meter and causing a gas leak, according to authorities.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews responded about 3:30 p.m. to a report that a car had hit the library at 6400 Democracy Blvd., spokesperson Pete Piringer told MoCo360. A couple dozen people were evacuated and no injuries were reported, he said.
MCFRS crews set up a perimeter and Washington Gas was working to fix the leak, he said. The company first had to lower the gas pressure before turning it off.
One lane of Democracy Boulevard and Bells Mills Road were closed as of 4 p.m. As of 4:30 p.m., the gas had been shut off, Piringer wrote on social media.
He said air-conditioned buses were brought in to shelter those evacuated from the heat.
Erica Caplan of Rockville was in the library when the vehicle struck the building. She was using a computer when staff told her she needed to leave.
“I was a little confused because I was, like, what’s going on? Why do we need to leave? They didn’t tell us at that point, so I thought is it safe to go outside because I thought maybe there might be an active shooter,” she said. “So as soon as we got outside, we saw that there was a car that hit the building and hit a gas line. Then you could smell the gas.”
The library staff said a car hit the building and “then a young girl ran off,” Caplan said. “And we don’t know where she is apparently.”
Piringer could not confirm whether the car’s driver had left the library property. Montgomery County police were investigating, he said.
Caplan said she was stuck “in this 100-degree heat” and unable to leave because she couldn’t get to her car in the library parking lot.
