Car slams into auto repair shop in Mayfair, driver arrested

A wild morning in Philadelphia's Mayfair neighborhood when a car raced through a parking lot and slammed into an auto repair shop.

The alleged drunk driver was arrested on the spot. The business is partially destroyed and will take time to reopen.

It happened about 4 a.m. Saturday. The silver BMW plowed into Mike and Irv's Auto Repair Shop at Harbison Avenue and Levick Street in Mayfair. The crash startled neighbor Alby Snyder out of a deep sleep.

"All I see is a car going right through the garage. It was crazy. All these cars and I don't know how he did that without hitting other cars," Snyder exclaimed. "I don't know how fast they were going, but they were going fast because it was a loud - real loud bang."

Police allege the driver, estimated to be in his forties, was drunk. The car rammed through a garage bay so hard, it pushed a customer's classic car through the back wall, causing serious structural damage. Amazingly, both the driver and a passenger walked away without serious injuries.

"Good man. Takes care of my dad's car and my brother's car," said Snyder.

The 15th Police District is just behind the 60-year-old auto shop. In fact, the back wall juts up against the police parking lot.

The current owner says Mike and Irv were his father and uncle. He told Fox 29 he was too distraught to speak on camera. The City of Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections has deemed the building as structurally unsound and the business must close for the foreseeable future.

"It's a shame now, he's out of work, can't work because L&I shut him down until he gets the problem fixed, because someone wants to drink and drive," Snyder added.

The first thing the owners did when they saw the destroyed shop was to frantically search for their pet cat who lives in the building. Happily, the cat survived. She was terrified and hiding but home safe now. The owner is now focused on figuring out where to send his current customers while he picks up the pieces.