Vehicle Crash Causes Fire at Howell Dentistry in Downtown Suffolk
According to news reports, hundreds of customers lost power in downtown Suffolk on Christmas morning after a vehicle crashed into the downtown location of Howell Family Dentistry and knocked out a power pole, city officials said.
Officials said a vehicle ran through the side of the building and caught fire, which then spread to the building. The fire was brought under control at 8:07 a.m.
The driver was able to exit the vehicle before firefighters arrived and was taken to a trauma center with serious injuries. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, and no firefighters were hurt.
The Howells are evaluating the full extent of the damages and pursuing temporary options close to downtown Suffolk. Three generations of Howells — Dr. Leroy Howell, Dr. Ralph Howell, and Dr. Dani Howell — have served the Suffolk community since 1959 and have been active and generous with their time and talents in the Tidewater Dental Association and VDA.
We have heard from members asking how they can help support the Howells during this time. We will update this post with additional information as it becomes available. The most recent update from Sunday, January 4, is available below.
"Downtown Update - While we are still a long way from knowing the full extent of damages and repairs needed, last week we were informed that the initial estimates for getting back into the office are significantly greater than we'd hoped. For the immediate future, we will continue to see patients out of our Harbour View location. We are actively pursuing temporary options closer to our Downtown location that afford us more space and less distance for our patients. Please know we are doing our very best to accommodate as many appointments as possible. Our capacity to treat patients is significantly impacted as we have gone from 22 operatories to 10; therefore, there may be some appointments that require rescheduling."
