SUV crashes through Portage Avenue tanning salon

A Winnipeg shop owner said he’s thankful no one was inside his store when an SUV came crashing through the front door.

The collision happened around 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

READ MORE: Police update collision that closed Portage Avenue for hours

Allegra Frisen Epp said she was walking near Portage and Arlington when two cars collided in the intersection.

“I was waiting on the corner for the light to turn,” Friesen Epp said. “I just remember hearing the crash and then seeing the van slide and then hearing the crash of the windows breaking in the store.

“[I thought] am I really witnessing this? It’s nuts. You’re just in shock.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "[I thought] am I really witnessing this? It's nuts. You're just in shock."

Glass is smashed, lights are down, and a door frame is reduced to a single bent strip at Bodyshades Tanning Salon and Spa, which received the majority of the damage.

The shop owner, Mel Mozel, said he received a call that a vehicle had driven through the facade. He estimates it will take a month to make newly-needed repairs.

“This is when I make my money and now I’m closed in my busy season,” Mozel said. “I don’t know what to do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is when I make my money and now I'm closed in my busy season," Mozel said. "I don't know what to do."

No one was seriously injured during the crash. Traffic on the strip was only temporarily slowed.

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