INDIANAPOLIS — Looking at Second Presbyterian Church on Friday, it’s hard to imagine that just 24 hours ago, it was consumed by a thick, black cloud of smoke.
From the video shared by viewers, even Senior Pastor Rev. Chris Henry thought his church was in trouble.
“I was actually with our 6 1/2-year-old son who ran out into the driveway and started yelling, ‘Our church is on fire! Our church is on fire!’” Henry said. “My concern initially was where it had made impact because those doors are wooden, and that, of course, would’ve been a different scenario.”
Instead, the car hit a corner of the limestone just feet from the doors.
Miraculously, two IMPD officers were already in the church parking lot when the crash happened.
Officers Aaron Duncan and Holly Armstrong pulled the semi-conscious driver from the car and laid her in the grass nearby. Armstrong, who is also an EMT, provided emergency care to the woman while Duncan tried to extinguish the fire, IFD said.
Both officers just joined the department in March 2023.
The 61-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
“Those two officers who responded truly were angels to our community and certainly to the driver as well,” Henry said.
Firefighters then put out the remaining flames and discovered there was little damage to the exterior of the building.
“One of them said, ‘We were not going to let that church go down,’ and that was pretty moving,” Henry said. “Our tagline is, ‘A church for the city,’ and we really believe that our mission is caring for the city of Indianapolis, and yesterday, we feel like the city of Indianapolis cared for us,” Henry said.
Henry hopes soon to return the favor and thank these first responders during a Sunday service worship.
“The spirit of God is present wherever people gather and certainly was present yesterday in the heroism of those first responders,” Henry said.
IFD said it’s unclear what caused the driver to leave the road. They believe she went at least 100 yards through the grass before hitting the building.
Second Presbyterian Church is still assessing the damage.