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Driver tries to make Platteville Cleaners a drive-in
cleaner crash 1
Platteville Cleaners owner Tim Koeller took these photos of his business after a pickup truck hit the building Sunday around 4 a.m.

The owner of Platteville Cleaners spent Sunday and Monday cleaning up his business.

The cleanup was required after his building at 250 W. Main St. was hit by a pickup truck Sunday around 4 a.m.

“I heard my phone about 20 to 5 in the morning,” said owner Tim Koeller. “You never know what it’s about when your phone’s ringing that time of day. They left a message to call the Platteville Police Department, and you don’t know what’s going on.

“They told me they had broken glass and I needed to secure the building.”

The damage was far more extensive than that. The front window and west-side wall was damaged, with additional damage inside the building, including to one of his machines that probably will have to be replaced.

According to police, the unoccupied truck was found by following the debris trail from the building.

Morgan A. Baxter, 19, Darlington, was cited for failure to notify police of an accident, underage operation of a vehicle without absolute sobriety, hit and run causing injury, and underage drinking. A passenger in the truck suffered facial injuries, according to police.

The business is closed Sundays, but Koeller and his employees worked on cleanup both Sunday and Monday. Koeller took 3,740 pounds of debris, including “a lot of brick in there,” to Faherty Inc. Monday.

“We’re open and going, but we’re still having issues with a couple pieces of equipment,” said Koeller. “We’ve got a few things that are busted up, equipment-wise.”

Koeller said he has “no plans to make it a drive-through cleaners.”