A monument to a Belgian war hero on a busy Brussels road was left in pieces after a car crashed into it early Sunday morning.

The unidentified driver of a grey Mercedes rammed into the monument around 7:30 AM, in an incident whose only casualty appears to be the concrete bust erected on Avenue Louise in honour of Belgian pilot Jean de Selys Longchamps.

“The driver was not injured and he blew positive,” police spokesperson Olivier Slosse said, referring to the driver’s blood-alcohol levels, according to Bruzz.

De Selys Longchamps is known for having carried out an air attack on the Gestapo headquarters in 1943, during the Nazi occupation of Belgium.

Serving under the British Air Force, de Selys Longchamps decision to carry out the airstrike orders led to his demotion, but he was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his feat.

The bust commemorating his actions was erected in front of the building which formerly housed the Nazi’s secret police, located on number 453 of the busy street.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times