Car crashes into T-Mobile on Kempton Street, causes $50,000 in damage

Nov. 19--NEW BEDFORD -- For the second time this month Michael Panagakos got a call that a vehicle crashed into one of his buildings.

The SouthCoast businessman said he received a call around 10:30 p.m. telling him that a car drove through the side of 874 Kempton St., currently a T-Mobile store, and hit one of its columns, he said.

According to Deputy Chief of the New Bedford Police Department Paul Oliveira, the crash occurred at 10 p.m. Sunday, when a man drove his vehicle first through a mailbox and then into the building.

The man was transported to St. Luke's Hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries, Oliveira said, and he was not arrested but he is he is being charged with various motor vehicle violations including operating under the influence of drugs.

There was some structural damage to the building and most of the storefront along Kempton Street was damaged, according to Panagakos.

A photograph of the store following the incident shows several of the storefront windows shattered.

Panagakos said a rough estimate of the damage is over $50,000 and the store was closed Monday morning with its windows boarded up.

Panagakos said the store should reopen Monday afternoon and he is waiting for the police report about the incident so he can file an insurance claim.

The Standard-Times reached out to the New Bedford Police and Fire Departments for more information about the crash, including if there were any injuries, but did not hear back.

Sunday night's crash comes a little over a week after a car crashed into the front porch of Panagakos' building at 1026 Kempton Street, according to a police report.

The police report stated that Teresinha Santos, 64, was driving west along Kempton Street on Nov. 9 looking for Hillman Street, when she began to turn right and collided with another vehicle that was also driving west on Kempton Street, driven by Fatima Alves, 59.

Santos' then said her car traveled across lanes, struck the porch of 1026 Kempton St. and continued into 88 Ilion St., striking the gas meter on that building, according to the report.

The police report states that one party was injured in the crash, but does not describe the extent of the injuries, and noted that both vehicles needed to be towed from the scene.

Santos' car, a Ford, had damage to the center front, right front, and under carriage, according to the report, and Alves' car, a Jeep, had damage to its left side.

Panagakos called the damage to 1026 Kempton St. pretty substantial, saying it "wiped out the front porch" and he has engineers looking at it now.

Panagakos estimated that the damage to that building was around $20,000.

A woman who does tarot card readings has been a tenant in the building for 15 years, according to Panagakos, and he said he joked with her and asked if she'd seen the accident coming in the cards.

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