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.

The scene after a streetsweeper crashed into Hudson Market on W57th St
The scene immediately after the street sweeper came off the road and into the front of the Hudson Market on W57th St at the corner with 11th Avenue. Photo: Citizen App

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.

Street Sweeper W57th Street
The street sweeper is pulled out of the window of Hudson Market. Photo: W42ST Reader

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 scene after a sweeper crashed into Hudson Market on W57th St at 11th Avenue
This was the aftermath of the crash, with windows smashed on Hudson Market’s W57th Street side. Photo: Naty Caez

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.

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