CLEVELAND — Exactly one week ago, ReadyLine Auto Detail's business came to a screeching halt as an alleged drunk driver crashed into the front of the building.
Cleveland police said a 32-year-old woman was driving westbound on Bellaire Road overnight on July 12 when she lost control of the vehicle, crashing into the business.
According to police, the woman was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Abbas Monther, along with his two brothers, owns ReadyLine. He said his heart sank when he found out what happened that Sunday morning.
"She destroyed the front entrance, front door, and there was a wall there," Monther said. "I was sleeping in, and then my dad called because everybody was trying to call me. My phone was on silent because I have a 2-year-old. My dad called my wife, and she passed the phone over to me. He told me something happened at the shop, so I live a couple minutes away, sped up here. When I pulled in, my heart just like sank. I didn't know what to say."
Not only is there clear damage to the building, but expensive equipment was kept inside at the time. Not all of those items have been checked to see if they're operable.
"I had a vinyl plotter, a tint cut machine, basically that was in there. We had computers in there. I know my MacBook that I use, you know, that I carry around back and forth, that's destroyed," Monther said.
Monther had also purchased a vehicle less than 48 hours prior to the crash. It was parked in the front lot of his business. That, too, was damaged.
"I didn't get to switch it into my name yet or put insurance on it," Monther said. "That's totaled because the frame is completely bent."
The good news, according to Cleveland police, is that no one was seriously injured, including a cat named Bucket, also known as Ms. Cat, who was inside the business when the crash happened.
"She [the cat] actually stayed in the room that was adjacent to this wall that the lady destroyed," Monther said. "She's at home. I had to take her away from all this. He [one of Monther's brothers] was in here with his uncle. He left at 11:30, so just two hours before [the crash]. He's usually the one that feeds the cat, like at the end of the day, puts water in her bowl, and like I said, her room was in there, her bowl was like right up against that wall, so if he would have been in there, wrong time, wrong place, it would have been a lot worse."
Inches from the crash, too, is a gas line the driver luckily missed.
Right now, the minimum estimate to repair the damage is running Monther and his brothers $25,000. That doesn't include Monther's personal car or any lost equipment.
Repairs are coming along nicely, though. The framework on the inside is in progress, a new door and window have been installed and the foundation for signage is now in place.
"We just had to like push through it, kind of, just continue our normal business, act like nothing happened up front, and yeah, just try to make the best out of it. Everything happens for a reason," Monther said.
So far, all costs have come out of pocket as Monther isn't aware of the driver having insurance.
A GoFundMe has now been created, though, as a way to help alleviate the costs for this business that just opened its doors in January. If you'd like to donate, click HERE.
"We're family-owned. It's literally just the three of us. No parents chipping in. It's just us three. We're three kids just trying to make a solid business and, you know, provide for our families," Monther said.
Monther is hopeful the repairs will be complete in the next week.
