SAN ANTONIO – Damage done to a far Northwest Side business by a runaway driver is only the latest trouble in what has been a tough year for the business owner.
Lorincio Bacus, who owns The Ink Retreat, says he was just beginning to turn things around after the coronavirus pandemic, then a business-killing winter storm, temporarily shut down his tattoo parlor.
“And then this happens, you know? It’s just one thing after another, but what can you do?,” he said.
According to San Antonio police, someone in an SUV lost control of the vehicle and slammed into the front of his shop, located on Culebra Road just inside Loop 1604.
The driver then sped away from the scene, leaving behind shattered glass all over the ground.
The business was not open when it happened, shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Bacus heard about it from a worker at the neighboring convenience store, then rushed over.
Although all of the glass broke out of the front doors and windows, Bacus says oddly, his burglar alarm never went off.
He believes that is because the impact did not actually cause the door, itself, to open.
At least part of the crash, though, was captured on his security camera’s app.
“I opened up my iPad to see my camera and I just saw (the mess) and some police officers outside,” Bacus said. “They said that (the driver) hopped the curb going the wrong way on the street and, kind of, backed in.”
That left him sweeping up glass in the middle of the night.
Bacus said he spent the rest of the night sleeping inside his now-unsecured shop.
“Honestly, I’m happy to have faith in the Lord,” he said. “And I hope that whoever hit, they’re OK.”
Because the driver left the scene, it is unclear if he or she suffered any injuries.
Police say no one else was hurt in the crash.