Crime & Safety

An Inside View of Minivan Crash into Fifth Ave Bodega

Surveillance video caught the van crashing through the store on Wednesday.

Two people were injured Wednesday morning after a two-car accident on Fifth Avenue sent a van barreling into a deli, an FDNY spokesman said.  

According to FDNY officials, two minivans crashed into each other at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street at around 6:15 a.m., throwing one of the vans into the corner wall of Deli & Smoke Shop.   

Two people involved in the accident were transported to New York Methodist Hospital to be treated for minor injuries, the fire official said.  

According to the FDNY spokesman, firemen inspected the building for serious structural damage. Department of Buildings took over further inspection, but the store was open later in the day.   

Two other people refused medical attention at the scene.  

At around 5 p.m. Wednesday, a crowd of people gathered on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street to inspect the damage and watch news crews filming segments. A bumper sat on the top of a pile of glass and other debris.  

Abu Sima, an employee of Deli & Smoke Shop, said that no one in the store was hurt, but there was a good amount of damage. Looking through his cellphone, he brought up a video clip of the store’s surveillance video which caught the crash.  

In the video, the clerk is seen behind the counter when all of a sudden the Ninth Street wall buckles and food and drinks spill all over the floor as the van’s front end came into the store.  

Watch the video above to watch the crash. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.