Oak Park historic bike shop Barnard's Schwinn Cyclery damaged after car crash
Driver from Elmwood Park charged with DUI
OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- A man has been charged with DUI after police said he crashed his car into a historic bike shop in west suburban Oak Park, causing significant damage Thursday night.
The crash occurred at Barnard's Schwinn Cyclery at 6109 West North Avenue at about 10:20 p.m.
According to their website, they are the oldest family-owned business in Oak Park, serving the community since 1911.
The owner said a police officer was actually on patrol and parked at the gas station next to the shop. The owner said police told him that the driver fell asleep at the wheel while heading down North Avenue and steered off into the building. That driver was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.
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No one was inside at the time. Police said the driver, 44-year-old David Cross of Elmwood Park, was taken to Loyola Medical Center for treatment and later released to Oak Park police.
The man was charged with DUI as well as failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and not having proof of vehicle insurance.
The owner said some of the bikes and products at the front of the shop are likely not salvageable. It's a devastating hit for this family business right before the holiday season.
"This is very devastating," said Jeff Hajduke, vice president. "It's still hard to fathom how something this bad can come along....It's just crazy.... I mean it's just a matter of the draw."
Its a tough blow to a family business that's been around for 111 years. The bike shop managed to stay open through the pandemic, but now faces a different recovery with a car collapsing the building.
Hajduke says there's been a lot of speeding from drivers on North Avenue for a while now. He's hoping city leaders can do something about that.
"It's like a drag strip from basically Ridgeland right down to Austin... and can't do much about it," said Hajduke.
Some of the bikes and products at the front of the store are likely unsalvageable.
"Might be able to salvage some parts off it... but that's if we can get in there," said Hajduke.
He's also confident this shop will be back up and running soon once they sort through this damage and he wants all customers to know they'll still fulfill the need for all of their holiday purchases.
"We'll be here some place in Oak Park... we have to deal with the holiday season... we do have people that have layaways and we need to fill that need," said Hajduke.
