Crash & Burn

Crash & Burn

Car Smashes into Parkchester Store

Fire Destroys Leland Home

(Photos by David Greene)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, MARCH 10- A crazy lunch hour in Parkchester began with a car plowing through a storefront window and ended with the destruction of a 2-family home just four-blocks away. 

The quiet morning was shattered by screams and broken glass as fire officials from FDNY's Division Six were called at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 10 to the C & C Market Research company at 1454 East Avenue after witnesses stated the driver mistakenly hit the gas instead of the break. 

EMS reports eight people were injured and transported to Jacobi Hospital. At press time five of those injuries were listed as serious and three people were being treated for minor cuts and bruises. The unidentified driver was detained, but it is not yet known if any charges would be filed. 

At about the same time additional units were called to a fast-moving house fire at 1443 Leland Avenue. FDNY sources say one civilian and four firefighters suffered minor injuries. The home suffered extensive damage and several families are now displaced. Investigators have deemed the fire suspicious and an investigation is now under way to determine the cause.