Internal NYPD investigation launched into 4th of July dollar van crash response in Flatbush
The crash happened when a dollar van slammed headfirst into the building on Flatbush Avenue, causing significant structural damage.
A Flatbush business owner says she is relieved the NYPD is now reviewing officers' response to a July 4 crash that left her healthcare clinic heavily damaged and her property under a full vacate order.
The crash happened when a dollar van slammed headfirst into the building on Flatbush Avenue, causing significant structural damage.
The owner, Lourdie Honore, told News 12 she was troubled by what she witnessed after the crash, including alcohol containers inside the vehicle near the driver's seat and questioned why the driver was not subjected to a sobriety test.
"I asked officers, 'Can we do a breathalyzer?' They said, 'She's not drunk,'" the owner said. "I asked them how they could know that, and they said, 'She said so.'"
Honore said that officers told her that they couldn’t search the car either.
"How? After a crash like that?" she said.
After News 12 first reported the story and reached back out to police, the NYPD confirmed the incident is now under review by Internal Affairs.
Honore said the review gives her hope that questions surrounding the response will be examined.
"It's encouraging that at least part of the NYPD, Internal Affairs, realized something here also sounds wrong," she said.
The crash has left Honore facing significant expenses. She said she was forced to hire an engineer after the Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order for the property.
"No license, no ID, no title, and she gets to walk away after destroying my business," Honore said.
