A Brooklyn funeral home is cleaning up after a commercial truck crashed through part of the building Monday morning, leaving behind major damage and injuring three people.
The crash happened at Andrew Torregrossa and Sons Funeral Home on Flatbush Avenue in Flatlands. Firefighters said they were called to the scene shortly after 8:30 a.m. Department of Buildings inspectors were also called in to assess the building’s structural stability.
An employee told News 12 it was a miracle no one was inside the chapel when the truck hit. The employee said the chapel is usually full around that time in the morning, but it was empty Monday. The employee also said they were running late, and that the situation could have been much worse.
Video from the scene showed a wall knocked down, bricks scattered across the ground and damage inside the funeral home.
Officials said three people were injured. A funeral home employee said two of those injured were inside the commercial vehicle.
It is still unclear what caused the crash.
A nearby gas station clerk said he heard a loud noise moments before seeing the damage.
“It’s around 8:37, approximately. I was attending to a customer, and I heard a big noise,” said Sajid Asharif. “I just go outside and see the car smashed up the wall. It was a big sound, like a blast bomb, because he smashed up the wall.”
The funeral home’s manager did not want to speak on camera, but told News 12 the business plans to remain open. The manager said the damaged chapel will be closed, but the funeral home has four other chapels it can still use.