A man has been arrested after hitting two pedestrians, several parked cars, then damaging a storefront and causing a gas leak.
It happened around 2:15 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Bloor St. and Margueretta St.
Police say the car was travelling erratically on Bloor Street when it struck the two pedestrians who suffered minor injuries before hittin gseveral cars parked long the road.
Police say the car then drove into the front of a photography studio on Dundas St. West and hit a gas line which caused a gas leak.
That studio belongs to photographer George Pimentel who is in Ottawa for the Juno Awards.
“That building was originally my father’s building. When my parents immigrated to Canada, he opened up that studio in 1975. It is our heritage,” Pimentel told CP24. “That car could have easily went through Wallflower, which is a bar next door with lots of people. I am grateful the car went through my studio instead of theirs.”
The damage to Pimentel’s studio is extensive but the photographer said that he is insured and plans to rebuild.
He said that he is mostly just grateful that he and his staff were away from the building at the time.
“That window front is everything for me. It is an opportunity for me to showcase my work through that window. It is kind of like a shrine to Hollywood. But I have to try to be positive about this,” he said. “We can rebuild the studios and I can reprint the photos and I can make it look better than it ever was.”
Police say the driver took off but was arrested a short time later.
29-year-old Anthony Lewis has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm, failure to stop at the scene of an accident and driving while under a suspension.
With files from CP24 and Corinne Van Dusen