NEWSLINE: CAR MISHAP MORE TROUBLE FOR OLD HOTEL

The Marquette Hotel, scene of an arson fire Wednesday, took another beating Thursday night.

A car crashed into a corner of the hotel about 10:45 p.m. Police located the car's owner, William Hannah, about 15 minutes later. He was on foot about three blocks north of the scene.

The car, a late-model silver Ford Festiva, was left on the sidewalk at the corner of Broadway and Fountain.

Hannah, 21, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, told police that a man he met at the Playdium bar earlier that evening was driving the car.

Hannah said he had never met the man before Thursday night and only knew that the man's name was Bob.

Hannah told police the car was travelling east on Broadway when he told the driver to turn left on Fountain Street. Hannaqh told police the driver turned hard to the left and the vehicle jumped the curb, smashing into the building.

No damage to the building was visible.

The car's bumper was lying on the concrete a few yards away, the right front fender was caved in and the right tire was flat.

A witness saw one male running north on Fountain Street after the crash, which was easily heard at the apartment building across Broadway.

Officers continued the search for a person fitting the description Hannah gave officers.