Video captured the moments when a driver smashed into a family-owned barbershop in Riverside County and took off on Monday, leaving the shop severely damaged.
The crash left the front of Razors N Barbers Barbershop in the 41900 block of E. Florida Avenue boarded up as the owners tried to figure out what to do.
"Just to pull in the parking lot and see it completely destroyed — it's heartbreaking," Cristina Gomez, the store's owner, said.
Around midnight, a sport utility vehicle turned suddenly and crashed into the front of the barbershop, damaging a neighboring dry-cleaning store as well.
"Everything we have is in here," Gomez, a mother of five and owner of the struggling small business, said. "We poured everything in here and made sacrifices to make it happen."
Right after the crash, the driver hops out of the car and switches seats with a passenger, surveillance video shows. Then they take off in the SUV.
"So it's not just one person — it's two who had the choice to stay and own up to it," Gomez said.
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Barbers who work at the shop are also angry.
"I would love to see them catch them and pay for whatever they have done," Joel Dumas, barber, said.
The repairs will most likely come out of Gomez's pocket.
She and the barbers at the shop are hoping someone will recognize the SUV and come forward.
"We're not stopping and were not giving up," Gomez said. "We are going to keep cutting, and keep serving our community and we'll keep growing."
The shop will be open Tuesday at 7 a.m.
Anyone with information on the crash or SUV involved can call the California Highway Patrol at (1-800-835-5247.
