Car hits Brooklyn restaurant, which is burglarized the next night
GREENPOINT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police are investigating a pair of incidents at a family owned Brooklyn restaurant that has the owners struggling to recover, especially after getting through hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first incident happened last Tuesday, when sibling owners Sandra and Wilson Lopez said a car plowed through the outdoor seating area at Friducha Mexican Restaurant on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.
That driver fled the scene, leaving a trail of destruction behind.
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"It was open," Sandra Lopez said. "Thank God no was sitting there and none of my employees were doing anything there."
Then, Wednesday night, two people broke into the restaurant, stealing cash and causing more damage.
Sibling owners Sandra and Wilson Lopez said security cameras were broken, the camera box was taken, TVs were smashed, and $200 was taken from the register.
"They went downstairs and they break the TV where we can see all the cameras," Sandra Lopez said. "They also took the safe, which is there too. We can't touch it because the police will come and check the fingerprints. but there wasn't money there either...It's really, really sad."
The restaurant is a complete mess, and they're worried because the incidents were back to back.
"This is everything I have," Sandra Lopez said. "We went through a lot with COVID. We didn't get any help with the money they were giving out."
They are now planning on installing alarms.
"We put our heart and money to this," Sandra Lopez said. "And to see somebody can take it away, it's really sad and I was really scared."
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Police right now do not know if the two incidents are related, and the investigation is ongoing.
"This is not a big corporation," Sandra said. "This is a small business. Anything they take, it means something, so we have to be more prepared now."
The total property damage is estimated and more than $1,500.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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