Video: Truck slams into Cedar Crest thrift store

Video: Truck slams into Cedar Crest thrift store

Talking Talons is a well-known thrift shop in Cedar Crest. The owner says the driver caused thousands of dollars of damage. No one was injured.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Video shows a truck driving straight into a business in the East Mountains early Friday morning. 

Talking Talons is a well-known thrift shop in Cedar Crest. The owner says the driver caused thousands of dollars of damage. No one was injured. 

“Immediately it is very disturbing because we thought initially it was something that happens in Albuquerque a lot where some people break in and steal stuff,” said John Ross, co-executive director of Talking Talons. 

Workers at Talking Talon Thrift Store walked into after a call from Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office early Friday morning. 

“They told me there was a problem with the building, you know, and I was like, ‘Well are we going to be able to open?’ And she was like, ‘No’, this was way more than I expected, way more,” said Paula Martin, a store manager at Talking Talons.

Their front entrance camera captured video just before 2 a.m. Friday morning. A truck out of nowhere loses control coming around the corner. 

“Somebody came over, there is a little hill over there, actually became airborne and came very fast and just took out the front and came in,” said Martin.

Another video from the side of the store a few minutes later showed the presumed driver coming into the frame. Then, the driver runs away.

“When I got here, my first question was, ‘Was there a fatality?’ And they were like, ‘No, they took off,’” Martin said. 

Despite thousands of dollars in damage, they are grateful no one was hurt, and will eventually be able to open back up. 

“That is good news, you don’t want anyone to get hurt. But just sad because this thrift store is like a community center and the staff have all been here forever,” said Ross. 

Ross says he isn’t sure when they will be opening again, but they are still taking donations for the thrift store. 

They also have a GoFundMe page set up for all of their employees that are now out of work.