Police are searching for a black Porsche after what they say was a chain reaction collision which caused a Department of Sanitation street sweeper to crash into the front of Hudson Market on W57th Street, near the corner with 11th Avenue, early Tuesday afternoon.
Nobody was reported injured when the mechanical broom hit the facade of the market, but it left broken glass and debris, with the store temporarily closed to allow workers to board up the broken windows. Two bikes parked outside the store were also damaged in the crash, along with the fencing around a sidewalk tree — although the tree itself appeared unscathed.
When W42ST visited shortly after the sweeper was removed, tire marks were still visible on the road, showing how it had swerved into the front of the store, which is on the first floor of Helena 57WEST.
The NYPD are now searching the driver of a black Porsche which was apparently involved in the chain reaction accident and left the scene, CBS2 News reported.
The city operates a fleet of more than 430 single operator sweepers, with some based in the Sanitation Department’s Manhattan District 7 Garage on West 57th Street, close to the scene of the collision. The sweeper appeared to be headed for the garage before it went off the road. An average six-hour round sees the sweeper pick up as much as a ton of garbage and debris before returning to be emptied.