KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A car crashed into a mixed-use building in Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday morning.
Just before 9:20 a.m., a driver crashed into Ramos Upholstery, which has apartment units on an upper floor and is across the street from Slap’s BBQ.
The business is on the corner of Central Avenue and North Tremont Street in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood.
According to Kansas City, Kansas police, the person in the car was driving eastbound when they crossed over the westbound lane of Central Avenue, crashed into the building, and came to a stop inside.
Police said no one was inside the business at the time of the crash.
The driver was the only person inside the car and was taken to the hospital in serious condition, according to KCKPD.
No other businesses, cars or people were hurt during the crash.
As of 10:45 a.m., the car has been pulled out of the building.
Later on Thursday afternoon, FOX4 spoke with the owner of the business, Filiberto Ramos.
“We’ve been here 14 years. We are third generation. We’ve been doing it all of our lives. I love it. It’s me and my brother,” he said.
He says he’s calling his clients to share what took place and provide updates on any items they may have stored there.
Some furniture items were near the front windows at Ramos Upholstery and ready to be picked up in the coming days.
“Going to have to replace them and fix what’s there and modify what we can keep the structure back original,” Ramos said.
“It’s very devastating. Scary. I’m glad I wasn’t here,” Ramos said.
“It had just happened. I hope the person is ok.”
Police say the vehicle was not involved in a pursuit.
People in the area said there have been numerous accidents recently. They hope some safety precautions are on the way.
“We’ve been talking about speed bumps for the longest… but it hasn’t happened,” Ramos said.
“There used to be a lot of high-speed chases coming through here, cars flying across the bridge. I think that’s why they closed this bridge over here, so they couldn’t get away.”
Employees at a coffee shop next door heard the crash and related commotion.
“The whole building was destroyed, and the car was lodged into it. It was scary, thankfully nobody was hurt terribly.” Julia Nielson, a barista at Splitlog Coffee Co., shared.
“It was definitely scary… thinking about how it could have been us. I don’t think anybody was in the store. Thankfully. Could have been really bad if someone was.”
This is a developing story; FOX4 will update this story when more details are available.
