Police say a commercial vehicle crashed into the chapel of a Flatlands funeral home Monday morning.
It happened just after 8:30 a.m. at Andrew Torregrossa & Sons Funeral Home on Flatbush Avenue.
A gas station clerk working next door said he heard a loud boom when the crash happened.
“It is a big sound, like a blast bomb because he smashed up the wall,” said Sajid Asharif.
Police said a 54-year-old man was driving the white commercial vehicle on Fillmore Avenue when he collided with another car, lost control and slammed into the wall of the funeral home.
Asharif said he ran outside after hearing the noise.
“It’s around 8:37, approximately. I was attending to a customer, I hear a big noise. I just go outside and see the car did the wall and smash it up,” he said.
Neighbors said they were stunned by the crash.
“There’s lights. I mean, unless somebody was trying to beat the light, but usually truck drivers are pretty safe drivers unless he was trying to avoid someone who wasn’t,” said a neighbor named Deborah.
Police said the driver was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The two people in the other car refused medical attention.
Employees at the funeral home said the crash could have been much worse. They said the chapel is usually full around that time in the morning, but no service was taking place when the vehicle came through the wall.
The funeral home’s manager said they plan to remain open for business.