A retailer was settling down for the night when a deafening crash broke the silence of the evening.
Shalin Patel, who manages Premier Supermarket on Mackie Avenue in Patcham, was preparing to go to sleep when he discovered that a car had hit his family’s business.
Once the shop’s alarm started blaring, he viewed his smartphone security system and saw his car parked outside had been damaged, along with a second vehicle that had smashed into the shop front.
Mr Patel’s two small children were left extremely traumatised by what happened at around 11pm on Friday, May 1.
The 39-year-old proprietor explained he finds himself stuck, unable to do anything about the ruined building until an expert in structural matters examines it. He fears he might have to hold off until after the bank holiday.
It happened at such an awful time, he said. It’s a bank holiday weekend.
The business owner, who runs the shop on behalf of his father-in-law, said he cannot even start boarding up the premises until he gets approval from a structural engineer.
He said he felt utterly powerless.
Nobody can do anything until the structural engineer comes out, he said.
Because of the bank holiday, it looks like that won’t happen until Tuesday.
He explained he remained outside the premises until 6am the next day to stop any members of the public from going inside and possibly getting hurt.
It’s costing me money and there’s so much I don’t know, he said.
Sussex Police confirmed that after the incident, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being over the legal alcohol and drug limits while driving and failing to stop at the scene of a road accident.
Police are looking into the matter after a car hit a shop on Mackie Avenue in Brighton at 11.12pm on Friday night, May 1, a representative said.
The driver, a 29-year-old local man, has been detained on suspicion of drink and drug driving and failing to stop after a traffic collision.
Officers are asking for witnesses, and anyone with dashcam recordings is requested to send them to collision.appeal@sussex.police.uk, quoting reference 1865 of 01/05.