Fender Bender - Can't Open Hatch

Well, more truffles :iceslolan

Yesterday my wife was backing out of a parking space and backed into the bumper of an SUV - no damage to the SUV, but it creased the right rear of the hatch in our '98 Caravan. We tried pulling on the door latch, pushing it from the inside while trying to open it... no good. It's pushed in about 6", in the center of the hatch, about 1/3 right of center, maybe a foot or so to the right of the release lever.

Any ideas on how to open the hatch without destroying it? If I can a least get it open I can take off the panel and try to bang it out, straighten the latch, etc. I just don't want to cause more harm than is already there.

I did find this article:

http://www.2carpros.com/forum/1999-dodge-caravan--rear-hatch-door-lock-vt194431.html

Has anyone tried this, and would it be the same for a '98 ?