A view from across Ella T. Grasso Blvd. and Kimberly Ave. Neighbor Joshua McClain, with his son Mehki: “It’s kind of crazy.” The single-story commercial building at the southeastern corner of Kimberly Avenue and Ella T. Grasso Boulevard has been owned and managed by Nicholas Haskos’ f amily for the past five decades. On Monday night, a tractor-trailer slammed into the building — destroying much of a check-cashing agency’s storefront, and pushing an adjacent eatery towards West Haven. “It was quite a shock. We are just incredibly grateful that no one was seriously injured,” Haskos told the Independent in an email statement Tuesday. “Our family has owned and cared for this property for nearly 50 years, and we’ve never experienced anything like this before.” That two-unit commercial property is located in the Hill at 240 Kimberly Ave., right near the West Haven border and an I-95 highway exit and on-ramp. On Tuesday afternoon, city Demolition Inspector Jose Romero was on the scene with two construction workers, surveying the extensive damage. The sign “AP Check Cashing” remained intact at the building’s northwestern corner — even as the entire western side of the building had been turned into a pile of wood, concrete, and rubble. An adjacent restaurant — Sandwiches El Cubano Cafeteria — was also closed, as its side of the building bore cracks from where the entire structure had shifted following the crash. City police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that a truck collided with another vehicle at the Ella T. Grasso Boulevard-Kimberly Avenue intersection. The truck then went into the building. “Injuries were not life threatening,” he said. Bruckhart said that four people were in the car and one person was in the truck. He said he believes the building was not occupied at the time of the crash. Click here to watch videos on On Scene Media New Haven County’s Facebook page from the immediate aftermath of the crash. Joshua McClain, who lives in an apartment across the street on the Boulevard, said he heard the crash take place at around 11:30 p.m. Monday. He said he was playing a game when he heard a screeeech and then the crash. He said the “18-wheeler” was traveling southwest on Kimberly Avenue while a car was traveling southeast on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard. “It’s kind of crazy,” he said as he and his son Mehki took a look at the crumpled building on their walk back from McDonald’s. Haskos, who owns 240 Kimberly Ave. property through a Bethany-based holding company, said on Tuesday that he is still working on gathering more information to figure out what exactly happened. “In the meantime, we’ve hired a local company to stabilize the remaining structure,” he wrote. “They’re on-site now as I write this [at 5:29 p.m. Tuesday], and they expect to have the building fully secured and stabilized by the end of the day.” What comes next from the city’s perspective? City spokesperson Lenny Speiller told the Independent that the city’s Building Department had evaluated the property and “deemed it unsafe for occupancy.” Speiller said the property should be boarded up on Wednesday, and that the city’s Department of Public Works will be on site to help clear debris from the area. “The property owner must retain a structural engineer to evaluate the integrity of the property and determine appropriate next steps, and then submit those plans to the Building Department for review and approval,” Speiller continued. “City staff will continue to work with the property owner and business owner to facilitate an expeditious clean up and also assist them in whatever ways we can as they determine their next steps following this unfortunate incident.” At the scene on Tuesday afternoon. Cracks from where the southern end of the building has shifted thanks to Monday’s crash. The post Truck Wrecks Building appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less