Car crashes through roof in Santa Fe

SANTA FE — Michael Robinson was more than a little confused by what he saw. Or by what he didn’t see.

“I got a phone call from the police saying there was a car in my building,” he said. “So, I get here and there’re police cars, but I don’t see any damage to the building. Then they say, ‘Oh, no, you have to go inside and see this.’”

What Robinson found inside Gulf Coast Aerobic Services was a blue sports car — nose down — in the company’s reception area and a gaping hole in the roof.

About 2 a.m. Saturday, a 20-year-old Santa Fe man traveling north on Avenue R could not make the turn at the T-intersection with 18th Street, Santa Fe police said.

The car then went up a railroad embankment, cleared the tracks and flew at least 100 feet before crashing onto the roof of Robinson’s septic business, 13205 state Highway 6, police Sgt. Eric Bruss said.

The speed limit on Avenue R is 30 miles per hour. Bruss estimated the car was traveling 90 mph.

The initial impact was on the southeast corner of the metal building. The car bounced or skidded a bit before tearing through the roof, plunging through the second floor and coming to rest at an angle in the front of the building, said Don Mitchell, Robinson’s brother-in-law.

Police were called — not for a reported car crash, but because of a burglar alarm, Bruss said. When officers arrived, no one was in the building.

Santa Fe police have a suspect in custody. Charges of reckless driving and filing a false police report are pending, Bruss said.

The suspect did not suffer any injuries. The car had air bags and both deployed, Bruss said.

Getting the car out of the building was a tough job, Mitchell said.

“We dragged it out sideways,” he said. “We had to cut through the ceiling joists to get it down. Then we knocked down a wall and then they pulled it out through the (garage) door.”

Robinson said he hopes his business will be back on line in a day or so. No equipment was damaged, but his building is without electrical or telephone service.

“This could have been so much worse,” he said. “Nobody got hurt, thank God, and it’s all just property damage. It can be repaired.”