A chain-reaction crash in Old Mill Basin on Monday morning sent the driver of a van careening into the side of a nearby funeral home, leaving him hospitalized.
Police sources reported that the dramatic incident unfolded at about 8:40 a.m. on March 16 near the corner of Fillmore and Flatbush avenues.
Cops say a 55-year-old man driving a white work van was traveling eastbound on Fillmore Avenue on the rainy morning when he collided with another vehicle. The chain-reaction crash sent the large van and driver hurtling through bushes and into the Andrew Torregrossa & Sons Funeral Home, located at 2265 Flatbush Ave.
The impact was so great that the truck smashed through the building’s brick exterior, leading the front of the vehicle — which was filled with motorized equipment — lodged in the wall. Plants and metal fencing were left twisted between the brick and the vehicle; debris was also strewn across the ground.
Officers from the 63rd Precinct, firefighters and EMS all responded to the scene, and worked together to remove the van driver and his passenger from the wreckage.
The driver was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. Meanwhile, his passenger and the driver of the second car involved in the crash refused medical attention on scene.
Nobody was injured inside the funeral home, a family-run business that has been in operation since 1929, according to their website.
The exact cause of the collision is still under investigation, police sources said.
This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNY.
