LAKESIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Carnage at a Lakeside car dealership after a BMW went flying through an intersection and into the lot Wednesday morning and the crash was all captured on surveillance video.
Half a dozen cars were destroyed in the crash.
California Highway Patrol officials say the 20-year-old driver of a BMW suffered a medical issue and accelerated into the intersection at Woodside and Winter Gardens.
The driver hit the curb and launched into the air, taking out six cars, including two Corvettes.
While the driver is expected to survive, the owner of the car lot is left reeling.
“The only stuff that's getting traded in nobody wants anymore,” said Dan Shaffner, owner of Rev It Motors.
Shaffner says it’s hard to find a good car these days amid a global shortage.
“Prices are crazy there's no cars available.”
But he still had a decent selection at his Lakeside lot, including two Corvettes, a Toyota Tundra, and a Chevy Silverado. Then came the crash.
“It looked like one of those NASCAR crashes at Daytona where there's 20 cars laid out in pieces all the way down the front straightaway, that's what my lot looked like this morning.”
In total, Shaffner says an estimated $152,000 in damage was done at the lot. One of the cars might be reparable, while three others were unscathed. Power was also knocked out at local businesses.
“I found a BMW logo in the back of my truck.”
To make matters worse, it’s still unclear whether the driver had insurance. Shaffner says he is bracing to deal with his own company.
“I know what they’re going to do, they’re going to try to pay for it at what I bought it for, so all the labor and time and effort and moving it around I’ll be out, and I can't easily replace them because there's no cars, so it's going to be a tough tax time.”
Shaffner still has multiple cars on his lot that weren’t near the collision.
CHP says the driver was not suspected of being under the influence and was not arrested.
