Paul Bass Photo
A 20-year-old man drove straight into a Westville Village storefront — and now a business that usually repairs teeth is repairing its windows instead.
The crash took place Saturday around 2 a.m.
Here’s what happened, according to police spokesperson Capt. Anthony Duff:
A 20-year-old man from Portland, Connecticut, was driving a Kia Sorento SUV north on Central Avenue. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He crossed Whalley Avenue. And kept going.
Except Central Avenue doesn’t keep going. It stops at Whalley Avenue.
So the driver crashed into 881 Whalley Ave., a building that houses an orthodontist’s office and health and wellness center.
Now look at the place (pictured Monday above at left).
Firefighters, a utility rep, and a city building inspector arrived on scene after the crash. They found the SUV lodged inside the building. And the driver in the basement.
The storefronts of the building’s neighbors, Westville Pizza and new West Cafe, emerged intact.
The driver didn’t. He “sustained minor injuries in the crash,” Duff reported in a release.
Police charged the man with driving under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane (in this case, in a lane, period).