SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) – Nearly 16 weeks have passed since a driver crashed into a fitness studio in Salem. Thursday, the vehicle was finally removed from the building.

The owner mentioned some uncertainty about the building’s structural safety, which caused the removal to take longer.

Despite mixed emotions about the future, the owner said he’s grateful the process didn’t take longer.

”This place, especially for us, was more than a gym; it was our home,” explained the owner of E3 Fitness Jay Ezelle. “And we spent more time here than our actual. And we got to watch a lot of lives impacted.”

E3 Fitness hopes to be back and running early next year.

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