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SJ cat shelter closed after a 2-vehicle collision injures 2 people
Two people and nearly a dozen cats were impacted by a two-vehicle collision that resulted in an Jeep slamming into an exterior wall of the Dancing Cat sanctuary in San Jose.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Nearly a dozen South Bay cats are resting comfortably in various adoptive homes after a near catastrophe. This, after a two-car collision sent one vehicle into an exterior wall of a pet sanctuary.
Surveillance video from the ‘Dancing Cat’ showed the instant the San Jose sanctuary for cats came perilously close to a place where 10 cats nearly used up all their lives.
"I was here. I was sitting at the desk. I heard a screech from the intersection of 15th and Julian," said Ann Chasson, the sanctuary's president and co-founder.
The admitted cat lover has had a soft spot for cats since her parents brought the first one home when she was an infant.
The Dancing Cat opened a decade ago as an urban retreat for wandering cats to get a little R & R.
Chasson said one second her feline sanctuary in the Julian section of town was chill and the next a red Jeep crashed into an exterior sidewall.
"It was very startling. I didn't know what was going on. The volunteer that was with me thought it was an earthquake. I didn't think it was an earthquake, but I didn't know what it was," she said.
The volunteer she mentioned suffered a bruised arm, but no other injuries. Approximately 10 cats — lounging in a quiet area in the back of the building, were nearly scared out of their fur, but all escaped harm.
The San Jose Police Traffic Unit is investigating the collision. In an email, officers said, "...One driver...had a complaint of pain and was transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. The other driver was uninjured."
It's unclear what went wrong at the four-way stop intersection.
"I'd say that intersection has got, unfortunately, kind of an average amount of collisions," said Colin Heyne, a spokesman for the San Jose Dept. of Transportation.
He said investigative teams did studies before installing a four-way stop at 15th & Julian streets 10 years ago. The city says spending approximately $2 million on a traffic signal isn't feasible.
"...We make that decision based on things such as the intensity of the land use in the area, the amount of traffic that goes through an intersection, the number of conflicts or crashes," said Heyne.
Over the past five years, there have been six-accidents at N. 15th & Julian St. Two caused injuries.
Ann Chasson and company are continuing to clean up and rebuild. They're grateful fate, more than cat-like reflexes, prevented a catastrophe.
"The cats are gonna be okay. They're very resilient. They're in warm, safe, loving foster homes so they'll be fine," said Chasson.
The "Dancing Cat" lounge that puts the cats up for adoption. The 10 impacted by the crash are being cared for and the adoption work continues while the lounge is repaired and reopened, hopefully officials said, by the end of the year.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay Bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
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