Someone just crashed their car inside this Toronto bike shop

"There was a revving engine noise": Someone just crashed their car into this Toronto bike shop

Pete Lilly

The owner of a bike shop in the Annex is currently dealing with the aftermath after a car came crashing through his store window.

The incident occurred around 5 pm on Thursday at Sweet Pete’s Bike Shop at 517 Bloor Street West.

“There was a revving engine noise outside seconds before the car came through the front window of the shop,” owner Pete Lilly told Daily Hive.

Pete Lilly

Although people were walking around that evening, it just happened that there was no one around at that moment.

“We did have customers in the store — again, luck prevailed in that no one was at the front of the store,” said Lilly. “All staff and customers were back far enough to avoid injury.”

Pete Lilly

The car had been parked in the parking lane, and the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

As for the damage, the storefront and security gate are “destroyed beyond repair.” A radiator under the front window flew 40 feet in the air and landed in the middle of the store. Bike racks and accessories were damaged, and bikes that, according to Lilly, are mostly irreplaceable due to the lack of supply.

Pete Lilly

“I can’t speculate on the cost of the damage at this point,” said Lilly.

The store remains open, but it’s far from business as usual. The company is currently operating through the back door and providing services and selling basic accessories and bikes that weren’t by the storefront.

Of course we sell reflective safety vest but won’t don’t cover the shop with them.

— Sweet Pete’s (@SweetPetesBikes) May 26, 2022

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Lilly said that the community has been warm and distraught to see the damage, and people are just grateful that no one was hurt.

“A situation like this reminds you of just how kind and generous the neighbourhood is,” he said. “We’re tremendously fortunate.”