Owner Was Steps Away When Car Crashed Into Park Slope Salon

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Tuesday morning, Robert Santana headed to open his Park Slope salon an hour earlier than usual to meet a client, but he was running a few minutes late.

Usually very punctual, he called from the car to let her know. Moments later, he was waiting at the northbound light on Fourth Avenue across from the salon— and that's when he saw it.

"I see this shadow, the grey car going across," Santana told Patch. "It all went downhill from there."

The grey Pontiac, which Santana says blew through the southbound red light, barreled across the intersection, eventually colliding with a GMC SUV before crashing into Elements Hair Studio's front door.

The chaotic crash sent three people from the SUV — along with a scooter rider and cyclist the SUV hit during the collision — to the hospital with minor injuries. The people in the Pontiac fled the scene before authorities arrived, police said. There were no arrests as of Thursday.

Days later, Santana is dealing with the aftermath of the still-unknown level of destruction to his business, which has stood at the corner for 13 years.

He hasn't been inside given a full vacate order on the building, but can see from the outside the window is shattered, the iron column the car hit is snapped and expensive equipment from his relatively-new consultation area is nowhere near its spot in the front of the salon and likely damaged.

(According to the Department of Buildings, the vacate order is due to un-permitted shoring work done by the building owner in the cellar prior to the crash, which they found during their inspection.)

Even so, thoughts about what could have been are helping Santana — who friends say "always has a smile" — get through it.

"I'm so glad I was late — I could've been at the door," he said. "Those five, ten minutes of traffic were my saving grace that I wasn't there. I feel very fortunate in that."

He added that he's grateful nobody was more seriously hurt, especially given that kids often cross at the intersection on their way to the school and park nearby. Fourth Avenue has long been a "very treacherous" street despite calls for safety improvements, Santana said.

Another saving grace has been a fundraiser set up by Santana's friends and coworkers, which has raised nearly $11,000 in the few days after the crash.

Organizer Leah Sterk, who has worked with Santana in the haircare industry for 15 years, says the "outpouring of love" has been overwhelming.

"[Robert] is such a great person and he’s so giving — to see this happen to him, to anybody...is devastating," Sterk said.

Money raised with the GoFundMe will help Elements staff and Santana, a father of two, provide for their families while the salon goes through the likely drawn-out restoration process, Sterk said.

Santana said he plans to use some of it, though, to give back to those who helped him, possibly with a day of free classes at the salon once it's up and running again.

He also is more motivated than ever to advocate for safety upgrades on the corridor.

"For me that is the bigger picture," Santana said. "I don't know what that looks like, but I hope we can somehow enforce something. This could have been a lot worse."

Find the GoFundMe for Santana here.