Truck crashes into historic Norwell funeral home
NORWELL - A funeral home on the South Shore is boarded up after a truck slammed into the building Tuesday afternoon. The McNamara-Sparrell funeral home is a historic site in Norwell. It sits along an "S" curve on Central Street.
As owner Brendan McNamara walked WBZ through the interior debris Tuesday night, he couldn't help but think of the tragedy averted. "There's a lot of things that could have happened that thankfully didn't," McNamara said.
It was just before 5 p.m. when a pickup truck careened into the historic building.
"I was a little surprised at first, it wasn't what I was expecting," McNamara said. "I didn't think the damage would be quite this extensive."
Indeed, the pickup tore into the side of the old building, right where visitors would have been standing in line had a wake or service been in progress. "Thankfully that wasn't the case today," McNamara said.
Fortunately, the lone employee working Tuesday afternoon had just left to run an errand and the man driving the pickup was also unhurt.
"The driver was a little shaken and rattled but he seemed fine, physically fine, was polite and great with the police department and fire department," McNamara said.
That driver told police that the control arm on a front wheel snapped on the curvy road.
"It's a tough corner. These streets when they were built back in the day weren't designed for the vehicles we have now but for horses and carriage," McNamara said.
The building was empty, but the owner's family has struggled to preserve its quaint appeal over generations. It's been a funeral home since 1820 at least.
"We have records that go back to 1796 of them building caskets and delivering them to the local townspeople," McNamara said.
For now, it's a temporary fix, but McNamara says he's getting plenty of support from townspeople to restore the place.
McNamara says he's going to check with the historical society in town about the permanent fix. A funeral is scheduled to be held there next week.