D-Bat, the indoor baseball batting cage facility located in Rimrock Mall was struck by a vehicle Monday morning (11/1) around 6:00 am. It was the first of two Billings businesses to be hit by vehicles this week. The collision at D-Bat caused the entire mall to be closed most of the day on Monday while inspectors surveyed the damage.

It took a few days for electrical power to be restored to the batting cage business, and the owners of D-Bat were finally able to assess the damage with the lights on. The destruction is devastating.

Photos by D-Bat Billings, used with permission
Photos by D-Bat Billings, used with permission
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Nearly everything was destroyed by the impact.

The 63-year old man who was driving the pickup truck that hit the business was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. According to a Tweet on Monday from the Billings Police Department, the investigation is ongoing.

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Photo by D-Bat Billings, used with permission
Photo by D-Bat Billings, used with permission
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The family-owned business is reeling from the accident.

As you can imagine, husband and wife owners of D-Bat (Elly and Brandon Wood) are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the entire situation. In a display of kindness, their first post on social media on the day of the accident was expressing concern and thoughts for the man who was driving the truck. When I spoke with Brandon today, he reiterated their thankfulness that no one else was hurt. If the accident had happened during business hours it could have been far worse.

They are planning to rebuild and are currently working with insurance and adjusters to get the go-ahead to begin cleanup. Wood said one of their biggest concerns at the moment (after the well-being of the pickup truck driver) is making sure their employees can still earn a paycheck during the business's downtime. A GoFundMe has been set up HERE. He added that support from Billings and the baseball community has been phenomenal.

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