A driver who may have been speeding when he crashed into a two-story building in Santa Monica was hospitalized Friday, while city officials were assessing the structural integrity of the building.
The crash was reported around 11:20 p.m. Thursday at Santa Monica Boulevard and Princeton Street, where a BMW slammed into a mixed-use building, which had a printing shop on the first floor that sustained extensive damage, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. The driver, described only as a man, sustained moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital, police said.
“Witnesses reported the vehicle had been traveling eastbound prior to the collision, at a high rate of speed,” according to police.
Police said the structure was unoccupied at the time of the crash, and no evacuations were required, although neighbors told reporters at the scene that a family lived on the second floor of the structure and was displaced by the crash.
It was unclear if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.
Santa Monica Building and Safety officials were called to the scene to evaluate the integrity of the building. Video from the scene showed what appeared to be significant damage to the building, with a support beam dangling from the structure, severe damage to two stories and a widespread debris field on the sidewalk.
The owner of the first-floor Sir Speedy print shop told ABC7 she received a call from an alarm company after the crash and went to the scene to find her business in shambles.
“I just don’t have any words to even explain, I mean, look, we don’t have a store front,” Rehana Jiwani told the station.
Jiwani added, “We want our customers to know that they are our priority. The work is being done. It may not be done in the physical facility right here, but the work is getting done.”
A neighbor told the station that speeding is a persistent problem in the area.
“We have constantly accidents here,” she said. “Constantly.”