Sept. 17, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge (Updated: 5:25 pm)
A driver plowed into a Steinway Street dry cleaner on Thursday morning, damaging the store inside and out.
The crash occurred at 25-02 Steinway Street at roughly 4 a.m., according to the NYPD, adding that the driver was fleeing police at the time of the crash. Cops had attempted to stop the car – a 2015 BMW – for a traffic infraction, before it sped away and ultimately hit the dry cleaner.
The two men inside, both in their mid-twenties, were arrested and charged with fleeing officers, reckless driving, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of stolen property (the weapon), unlawful possession of marijuana and other traffic violations.
Police said they were sober at the time of the crash. They were transported to Elmhurst Hospital with minor injuries.
Images of the crash posted online by ABC 7 Eyewitness News show a white car being towed out of the crash site.
Konstantinos Iliopoulos, the owner of the dry cleaner, said he has been located there for 30 years. He estimated that it will be closed for about 10 days due to the crash.
He said the business sustained “tremendous damage,” from the exterior to tables and shirt presses inside.
“It’s a big job,” he said.
However, Iliopoulos added that he was grateful nobody was inside the store during the crash.
“It’s a problem, but I’ve seen a lot of things [in my life],” he said. “It’s just metal.”
