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A box truck driver without a license destroyed a North Carolina church when he plowed through its side Saturday morning — but the congregation’s pastor said he has nothing but love in his heart for the maniac.
Father Bienvenido Alegria was just 300 yards away from the Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Hispana when he heard the collision, he told WSOC-TV.
He rushed to his beloved ministry to find it in shards and a small box truck wedged through the wall, with its front bumper surrounded by splintered pews.
The force of the crash was so great that the wall on the opposite side of the church exploded, leaving a second gaping hole in the church’s four walls.
The driver was still in the front seat, appearing stunned, until Alegria politely helped him climb down.
Fortunately, no parishioners were inside at the time of the crash and the driver sustained only minor injuries.
In spite of his shock and anguish, Alegria immediately forgave the man after considering how he would feel if it was his own family in the driver’s seat.
“I say, maybe my son or my nephew or somebody else,” he recalled to the outlet.
Later, he told the man who wrecked his church: “I love you.”
Police said Bobby Dean McKinney, 32, was driving recklessly in the moments leading up to the crash and had veered so hard off the road that he raced through the parking lot before crashing into the church.
McKinney also allegedly had a revoked license and no insurance.
The crash was so destructive that the church was deemed unsafe, leaving the congregation without a house of worship to call home.
“I was impacted in my soul,” Alegria said.
“I feel real, real sad.”
Alegria and his congregation are hopeful that their church can be rebuilt and have even established a fundraiser to kick-start renovations.
In the meantime, pastors at a nearby church are allowing the Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Hispana worshippers to use their space twice a week.
Alegria could not be immediately reached by The Post.
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