WASHINGTON — It started off with a driver easing out of a parking lot along the 1400 block of Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown. In a matter of seconds, at around 1 p.m. on Saturday, the driver of the car crashed into a parked truck, sending it tail first into Casabella Nail Salon.
Surveillance video from inside the nail salon shows the debris, and how the truck narrowly avoided hitting a customer and employee. The staff at Casabella Nail Salon told WUSA9 they are OK, but they were stunned by what happened.
Sam Elissawy, who lives above the salon, told WUSA9 he heard the sounds of glass breaking and found it jarring.
“I lived there for almost 29 years. Never, I was shocked. I was actually sleeping while I was it happened,” Elissawy said.
Elissawy also owns Towne Wine & Liquors, a business located beside the nail salon. There was no apparent damage to the structure.
"It's just unusual because it's a very narrow street and a very, very crowded," he said.
David, who also did not provide his last name to WUSA9, also lives above the nail salon and felt the building shake.
“It was one large crash, but it kind of was like three...I guess broken into three parts. I immediately looked outside and I saw glass everywhere and the car come over the sidewalk and everything like that,” David said.
Casabella Nail Salon boarded up the windows and door and reopened Sunday. David said he’s hoping more people will stop to help others instead of pulling out their phones to record.
“Yeah, honestly that was my biggest concern because like people talk about the bystander effect all the time, and I got to see that like 100% firsthand. Like nobody was doing anything. There was one person who called out, like, 'Did anybody call 911' and everybody was just silent,” he said.
DC Police said there were no injuries in this crash and do not know if there were any issues with the structure.
WUSA9 asked if the driver was facing any charges, and Officer Makhetha Watson, a spokesperson responded, "I am not aware of any pending charges. This is a traffic accident and only people who are involved in the accident or their representatives can have these type of reports."