Police have identified the two people who died after a car plowed into a deli in New Haven's Fair Haven section late Friday night.
Officers were called to Justin's Deli Market on Grand Avenue at Blatchley Avenue around 11 p.m. after getting a report of a vehicle into a building.
Police said the vehicle was occupied by the driver as well as a passenger who left the scene.
According to officers, two pedestrians were pinned between the vehicle and the building and have died. Police have identified them as 42-year-old Carlos Kercado, of New Haven, and 32-year-old Emmanuel Torres, of New Haven.
Kercado died two days before he would have turned 43.
”It’s hard to believe…last night, I couldn’t even sleep. It’s not easy for me, my family and, of course, the people who got killed," Miguel Xicohdencael, the owner of Justin's Deli Mart, said.
The driver of the vehicle was listed in stable condition and the passenger was later treated for minor injuries, authorities added.
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”Just seeing that first thing in the morning. I worry about the person driving. I can’t even imagine what happened,” said Jean Kobylanski, of New Haven.
”It’s shocking, you know what I mean because we were just out here not too long ago and all of the sudden. It looks fake and to think like any of us could have been walking by,” Madyson Gregg, of New Haven added.
New Haven Police have not released any details on what led up to the crash.
"I can't even imagine what happened," Xicohdencael added.
The city's building department and the building's landlord are assessing the damage and securing the structure.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
