A car and a truck plowed into a Newark laundromat, killing a woman doing her laundry inside, according to witnesses.
Footage from Chopper 4 showed a chaotic scene Monday afternoon at the strip mall on Irvington Avenue, just blocks away from the campus of Seton Hall University. Two white vehicles — a pickup truck and a compact SUV — could be seen side-by-side going into the entrance of the Ivy Hill Laundromat.
Nothing about the incident had been confirmed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which only confirmed an investigation was underway. A witness told NBC New York he saw the driver of the white truck drinking alcohol with another man in the parking before he crashed into the other car, sending glass and metal flying in every direction.
The small white SUV had been double parked in front of the laundromat. The driver, Keely Mitchell, said she had run inside to see if her laundry was done — and because of that, she was not hurt, she said.
“I always come here, this is my laundromat and I didn’t see that coming at all. I didn’t even see the truck it came out of nowhere,” said Mitchell. “I was in shock. I wanted to see if everyone was OK around me, because I was fine.”
About 10 people were inside the laundromat at the time of the crash. According to witnesses, a woman doing her laundry was killed and a worker was injured when the truck lost control and plowed into the other car.
Those who saw what happened said the impact of the crash was so strong, it sent the worker flying. The extent of the worker’s injuries was not immediately clear.
There was no word on whether police had found the driver of the pickup truck, who witnesses said got out of the vehicle and ran off immediately after the crashing into the storefront.
“He needs to be held accountable, I don’t think he should have ran. He should have stayed,” Mitchell said.
Dozen of investigators were at the scene Monday evening.
