ALLSTON (CBS) — A car drove into the Common Ground Bar and Grill in Allston early Sunday morning causing significant damage to the building.
The incident occurred shortly before 7:00 a.m. The restaurant still opened for brunch at 11:00a.m.
The car drove off, but the restaurant owner says surveillance video caught the license plate number. Several witness also provided a description of the driver to Boston Police.
No arrests have been made, but police say the driver will likely face charges of leaving the scene of an accident and causing property damage.
Brenda Priddy makes her living as a spy photographer.
But she doesn't work for any government. Instead, she sells her photos of cars and trucks -- usually vehicles that have not yet been revealed to the public -- to car magazines and auto enthusiast web sites hungryfor even a camouflaged glimpse of an upcoming model.
Generally speaking, automakers don't appreciate what she does.
But lately she's found a friendlier place to indulge her passion for automotive photography, a place where the cars are ancient and often decrepit but people are eager to sho! w them off: Cuba.
New cars, in this communist country, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since the early 1960s, are difficult and expensive to acquire. But passionate -- and largely impoverished -- owners have kept the now ancient American cars that were on the road before the embargo still rolling with a mixture of grit, ingenuity and whatever parts they can gather.
The cars are often hard to recognize after decades of repainting and modification, but there are some classics under all that body work.
"It might have 10 coats of house paint on it to keep the rust from spreading," Priddy said.
A lot of old American cars in Cuba, like this 1957 Ford Fairlane, are now used as taxi cabs.
In most ca! ses these automobiles are, literally, a mere shell of what the! y used to be. While the body might be that of a 1957 Ford, the engine is more likely from a Mercedes-Benz(DDAIY) or a Peugeot. Even the body itself might even have been significantly changed. Cars are stretched for new roles as taxicabs. Roofs might have been cut off to turn hardtops into a convertibles.
Often, cars like this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Aire, have engines taken from later European cars.
Priddy went to Cuba in 2013 as part of a cultural exchange program and quickly became drawn to the island's time-warp car culture. She then organized a car-focused cultural exchange trip of her own earlier this year taking with her, among others, auto company executives, an automo! tive museum curator and a retired car magazine art director.
The emphasis is on keeping cars like this 1952 Chevrolet running not on keeping them in original condition.
The group visited Cuba's national car museum in Havana and spent a couple of days with members of the city's biggest car club.
Cars like this 1952 Buick are often passed down through families.
"They're so happy for people to have an interest in their cars," she said.
There are Russian, French and Asian cars on the roads of Havana! , she said, and they're usually much newer than and in better shape than these American models, but it's clearly General Motors(GM), Ford(F) and Chrysler(FCAM) products for which people have the most affection.
This is a 1952 Plymouth but little of the original car may remain underneath.
"They love their American cars," she said.
! This 1958 Ford Prefect was a model not sold in the United States.
Even though these cars are hardly in original condition, their owners are proud of the machines and the lengths to which they've gone to keep them running.
This 1951 Chevrolet has clearly been through some changes.
For the relative few who have real money to spend, American car parts can be had through couriers who buy the parts in the United States and simply bring them in their luggage on trips to Cuba.
In her normal professional life, Brenda ! Priddy takes photographs like this one of a Chevrolet Silverado being tested in the desert before it had been unveiled to the public.
So far, Priddy has taken over 50,000 photos of Cuba's cars and is planning another Cuban car tour later this year.
'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans Am sells for $450k
Experts from Hagerty Insurance assisted with identifying the cars shown in these photographs.
(Reuters) - Luis Abel Bango spent seven years searching for his dream car, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. He finally found it on Cuba's far western tip, buying it off the original owner for $7,000.
"I went everywhere looking for what I wanted. Out in the provinces, central Cuba. I had to go to the end of the island to find this one," Bango said.
The black-and-white four-door had been kept intact by the original owner, complete with all the chrome bits such as the rocket-like hood ornaments that give a '57 Chevy its style and make it a collectors' favorite.
"The whole package was nearly complete," said Bango, although he still needed take the car apart for a complete diagnosis and new paint job.
Around 60,000 vintage cars have run on Cuba's roads since before the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, but finding a collectible of value is a challenge.
For every hidden gem, there are thousands of beaten up clunkers, largely stripped of their original parts.
Cuba and the United States agreed last week to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off after the revolution, when the tail fin was still a recent innovation in automotive design.
Under the rapprochement, U.S. President Barack Obama plans to remove economic sanctions imposed against the communist-run island. In a land of chronic shortages made worse by those sanctions, Cubans kept the pre-revolution cars on the road, using makeshift parts and considerable ingenuity.
Still, American collectors who envision a wave of classic cars coming onto the market will need to temper their expectations. Even if the U.S. completely lifted its trade embargo, a 2010 Cuban law bans cars being taken off the island.
More importantly, most of the vintage cars, the backbone of urban transit, have suffered heavily on pothole-filled roads and the repairs, although inventive, wo! uld turn off any purist.
Convertible roofs are often replaced with sheets of plastic and many original motors have been replaced with diesel engines because they are cheaper to run.
"What you see are a lot of cars that are just kind of rolling hulks held together with duct tape and chicken wire," said Lance Lambert, host of U.S. television show Vintage Vehicles.
Alejando Torres, a Cuban mechanic, bought a '57 Chevy with only 74,000 miles on it from its original owner 10 years ago.
In what would be sacrilege in the United States, he put in a Mitsubishi diesel engine because the old gas guzzlers are just too expensive to run.
Torres said he has turned down $50,000 for it, although in the United States the listed value on that car in excellent condition is $28,100.
"Maybe I'd sell it if I could buy a modern diese! l car at that price," Torres said.
Under Cuba's one-party system, the new car market is tightly regulated and a brand new sedan costs upwards of $200,000. For decades, only pre-revolutionary vehicles could be bought and sold freely, which is why so many have stayed on the road.
The early 1950s Chevys seem to be the most common, though there are Fords, Buicks, DeSotos, Plymouths and Oldsmobiles. Occasionally a gigantic late '40s or early '50s Cadillac can be spotted.
"There are a lot of Americans that have the dream of finding the rare car in Cuba," said Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance car show. "For the most part, the cars you see on TV are really pretty hacked up. You'd find better cars here in the United States."
Some cars from Cuba might have value as novelties but "for serious! collectors the novelty will soon wear off," said Phil Skinner, a colle! ctibles editor with Kelley Blue Book, which lists new and used car prices.
MORE VALUABLE IN CUBA
Lifting the U.S. embargo would mostly help Cuban classic car owners buy parts.
Most of the cars are far more valuable in Cuba than they would be in the United States. Not only have they lost so many original parts that collectors crave, but the old workhorses also provide crucial income for their owners.
As taxis, their famously spacious interiors can accommodate half a dozen passengers. Cubans squeeze in for the equivalent of $0.40, while tourists like to take rides in the spiffier looking convertibles for about $30 an hour.
In the United States, the '57 Chevy Bel Air is perhaps the most coveted, with its distinct tail fin, though Cubans tend to prefer the 1955s an! d 1956s. All three years make up the "Tri Five" models that featured tri-colored bodies and lots of chrome.
The Kelley Blue Book Early Model Guide values a two-door 1957 convertible in excellent condition at $86,200, though the right car can go for over $100,000 to the right collector, experts say.
Roland Franz Henning, a German living in Cuba, said he owns a pristine 1957 Chevy Bel Air two-door, painted white and baby blue. In one important detail, it is the version that does not have a post or pillar separating the front and rear side windows.
"There are only three like this, in this condition, in all of Cuba," Henning said. "It looks just like the one from the 1957 brochure."
Bango, a member of Havana's V8 Club, had a '57 Chevy in mind when he decided to restore an old car for the club's weekend outings. While the two-do! or versions are more valuable, he likes the four-door and after his lon! g search found one without a pillar.
On Christmas Day, he went to see his car at the garage of his mechanic, Santiago Rodriguez, another V8 Club member who loves old cars.
The black-and-white body is mostly disassembled as Rodriguez methodically puts it back together. The project was stalled for several years while he gathered the parts he needed.
Bango wanted it to have extra power, so they are replacing the original six-cylinder engine with a 1970s-era Chevy V8. That would lower its value in the U.S. market but Bango says he would not sell even if it were allowed.
"I've been offered $27,000 for it as it is, all taken apart and not finished yet," Bango said. "There's no way I'd sell. This one is for the club. This one is for me."
!
(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit and Nelson Acosta and Rosa Tania Valdés in Havana; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Kieran Murray)
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two people are dead and three are injured after a two-car crash, and subsequent head-on collision, in Maple Grove Friday afternoon.
According to the Maple Grove Police Department, officers were called to a report of a head-on collision around 3:54 p.m. Friday at County Road 81 and Maple Grove Parkway.
Upon arrival, officers learned that a vehicle, driven by 54-year-old Michael Kelley of Dayton, was traveling westbound on County Road 81 when it crossed into the eastbound traffic lane.
Officers said this resulted in a two-car crash as Kelley sideswiped an eastbound traveling vehicle, which then hit another car.
According to Maple Grove police, three people sustained non-life threatening injuries in this crash.
Police said Kelley continued to drive westbound in the eastbound lane of County Road 81 after the collision.
Kelley then hit another eastbound vehicle, driven by 68-year-old Cheron Swanson of Dayton, head-on.
Police said both Swanson and Kelley were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, alcohol appears to have been a factor in the fatal crash.
Maple Grove Police and Fire Department, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota State Patrol are currently investigating the crash.
(Reuters) - Luis Abel Bango spent seven years searching for his dream car, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. He finally found it on Cuba's far western tip, buying it off the original owner for $7,000.
"I went everywhere looking for what I wanted. Out in the provinces, central Cuba. I had to go to the end of the island to find this one," Bango said.
The black-and-white four-door had been kept intact by the original owner, complete with all the chrome bits such as the rocket-like hood ornaments that give a '57 Chevy its style and make it a collectors' favorite.
"The whole package was nearly complete," said Bango, although he still needed take the car apart for a complete diagnosis and new paint job.
Around 60,000 vintage cars have run on Cuba's roads since before the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, but finding a collectible of value is a challenge.
For every hidden gem, there are thousands of beaten up clunkers, largely stripped of their original parts.
Cuba and the United States agreed last week to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off after the revolution, when the tail fin was still a recent innovation in automotive design.
Under the rapprochement, U.S. President Barack Obama plans to remove economic sanctions imposed against the communist-run island. In a land of chronic shortages made worse by those sanctions, Cubans kept the pre-revolution cars on the road, using makeshift parts and considerable ingenuity.
Still, American collectors who envision a wave of classic cars coming onto the market will need to temper their expectations. Even if the U.S. completely lifted its trade embargo, a 2010 Cuban law bans cars being taken off the island.
More importantly, most of the vintage cars, the backbone of urban transit, have suffered heavily on pothole-filled roads and the repairs, although inventive, wo! uld turn off any purist.
Convertible roofs are often replaced with sheets of plastic and many original motors have been replaced with diesel engines because they are cheaper to run.
"What you see are a lot of cars that are just kind of rolling hulks held together with duct tape and chicken wire," said Lance Lambert, host of U.S. television show Vintage Vehicles.
Alejando Torres, a Cuban mechanic, bought a '57 Chevy with only 74,000 miles on it from its original owner 10 years ago.
In what would be sacrilege in the United States, he put in a Mitsubishi diesel engine because the old gas guzzlers are just too expensive to run.
Torres said he has turned down $50,000 for it, although in the United States the listed value on that car in excellent condition is $28,100.
"Maybe I'd sell it if I could buy a modern diese! l car at that price," Torres said.
Under Cuba's one-party system, the new car market is tightly regulated and a brand new sedan costs upwards of $200,000. For decades, only pre-revolutionary vehicles could be bought and sold freely, which is why so many have stayed on the road.
The early 1950s Chevys seem to be the most common, though there are Fords, Buicks, DeSotos, Plymouths and Oldsmobiles. Occasionally a gigantic late '40s or early '50s Cadillac can be spotted.
"There are a lot of Americans that have the dream of finding the rare car in Cuba," said Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance car show. "For the most part, the cars you see on TV are really pretty hacked up. You'd find better cars here in the United States."
Some cars from Cuba might have value as novelties but "for serious! collectors the novelty will soon wear off," said Phil Skinner, a colle! ctibles editor with Kelley Blue Book, which lists new and used car prices.
MORE VALUABLE IN CUBA
Lifting the U.S. embargo would mostly help Cuban classic car owners buy parts.
Most of the cars are far more valuable in Cuba than they would be in the United States. Not only have they lost so many original parts that collectors crave, but the old workhorses also provide crucial income for their owners.
As taxis, their famously spacious interiors can accommodate half a dozen passengers. Cubans squeeze in for the equivalent of $0.40, while tourists like to take rides in the spiffier looking convertibles for about $30 an hour.
In the United States, the '57 Chevy Bel Air is perhaps the most coveted, with its distinct tail fin, though Cubans tend to prefer the 1955s an! d 1956s. All three years make up the "Tri Five" models that featured tri-colored bodies and lots of chrome.
The Kelley Blue Book Early Model Guide values a two-door 1957 convertible in excellent condition at $86,200, though the right car can go for over $100,000 to the right collector, experts say.
Roland Franz Henning, a German living in Cuba, said he owns a pristine 1957 Chevy Bel Air two-door, painted white and baby blue. In one important detail, it is the version that does not have a post or pillar separating the front and rear side windows.
"There are only three like this, in this condition, in all of Cuba," Henning said. "It looks just like the one from the 1957 brochure."
Bango, a member of Havana's V8 Club, had a '57 Chevy in mind when he decided to restore an old car for the club's weekend outings. While the two-do! or versions are more valuable, he likes the four-door and after his lon! g search found one without a pillar.
On Christmas Day, he went to see his car at the garage of his mechanic, Santiago Rodriguez, another V8 Club member who loves old cars.
The black-and-white body is mostly disassembled as Rodriguez methodically puts it back together. The project was stalled for several years while he gathered the parts he needed.
Bango wanted it to have extra power, so they are replacing the original six-cylinder engine with a 1970s-era Chevy V8. That would lower its value in the U.S. market but Bango says he would not sell even if it were allowed.
"I've been offered $27,000 for it as it is, all taken apart and not finished yet," Bango said. "There's no way I'd sell. This one is for the club. This one is for me."
!
(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit and Nelson Acosta and Rosa Tania Valdés in Havana; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Kieran Murray)
Rogers Family Dies in Deadly Crash (Courtesy of WXIN)
Rogers Family Killed in Indiana Car Crash
Rogers Family Dies in Deadly Crash (Courtesy of WXIN)
INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) – A family of five was killed early Friday morning in a car crash in Tipton County. They were traveling back to their home in Arkansas from Michigan.
Investigators with the Indiana State Police say the 2001 Jaguar was hit by a semi truck on U.S. 31 near 250 South around 8:45 a.m. Friday. Two adults and two children died at the scene. The lone survivor was airlifted to Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis with life threatening injuries. She died Friday evening.
Investigators say the Jaguar was headed south on U.S. 31 and somehow lost control. The driver overcorrected, crossed the median and ended up on the other side of the road. State Police say a fully loaded semi truck, driven by William Stump of Carmel, moved to the shoulder to avoid the car, but couldn't.
Two of the victims have been identified as 43-year-old Dennis Nguyen and 44-year-old Thu-Ha Thi Cao. Officers haven't yet released the names of the children.
Brenda Priddy makes her living as a spy photographer.
But she doesn't work for any government. Instead, she sells her photos of cars and trucks -- usually vehicles that have not yet been revealed to the public -- to car magazines and auto enthusiast web sites hungryfor even a camouflaged glimpse of an upcoming model.
Generally speaking, automakers don't appreciate what she does.
But lately she's found a friendlier place to indulge her passion for automotive photography, a place where the cars are ancient and often decrepit but people are eager to sho! w them off: Cuba.
New cars, in this communist country, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since the early 1960s, are difficult and expensive to acquire. But passionate -- and largely impoverished -- owners have kept the now ancient American cars that were on the road before the embargo still rolling with a mixture of grit, ingenuity and whatever parts they can gather.
The cars are often hard to recognize after decades of repainting and modification, but there are some classics under all that body work.
"It might have 10 coats of house paint on it to keep the rust from spreading," Priddy said.
A lot of old American cars in Cuba, like this 1957 Ford Fairlane, are now used as taxi cabs.
In most ca! ses these automobiles are, literally, a mere shell of what the! y used to be. While the body might be that of a 1957 Ford, the engine is more likely from a Mercedes-Benz(DDAIY) or a Peugeot. Even the body itself might even have been significantly changed. Cars are stretched for new roles as taxicabs. Roofs might have been cut off to turn hardtops into a convertibles.
Often, cars like this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Aire, have engines taken from later European cars.
Priddy went to Cuba in 2013 as part of a cultural exchange program and quickly became drawn to the island's time-warp car culture. She then organized a car-focused cultural exchange trip of her own earlier this year taking with her, among others, auto company executives, an automo! tive museum curator and a retired car magazine art director.
The emphasis is on keeping cars like this 1952 Chevrolet running not on keeping them in original condition.
The group visited Cuba's national car museum in Havana and spent a couple of days with members of the city's biggest car club.
Cars like this 1952 Buick are often passed down through families.
"They're so happy for people to have an interest in their cars," she said.
There are Russian, French and Asian cars on the roads of Havana! , she said, and they're usually much newer than and in better shape than these American models, but it's clearly General Motors(GM), Ford(F) and Chrysler(FCAM) products for which people have the most affection.
This is a 1952 Plymouth but little of the original car may remain underneath.
"They love their American cars," she said.
! This 1958 Ford Prefect was a model not sold in the United States.
Even though these cars are hardly in original condition, their owners are proud of the machines and the lengths to which they've gone to keep them running.
This 1951 Chevrolet has clearly been through some changes.
For the relative few who have real money to spend, American car parts can be had through couriers who buy the parts in the United States and simply bring them in their luggage on trips to Cuba.
In her normal professional life, Brenda ! Priddy takes photographs like this one of a Chevrolet Silverado being tested in the desert before it had been unveiled to the public.
So far, Priddy has taken over 50,000 photos of Cuba's cars and is planning another Cuban car tour later this year.
'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans Am sells for $450k
Experts from Hagerty Insurance assisted with identifying the cars shown in these photographs.
! 
