MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Several people were injured Thursday when police say an SUV plowed into an East Memphis gym around 2 pm.
It’s called “God Bod” and owner Chef P believes God gave him a guiding hand when he narrowly avoided the vehicle as it came through the front of this business at Getwell and Park.
“Boom! It was just that fast,” he said, “It was like an explosion. I thought somebody threw a bomb in front of the building.”
Chef says a gym member and one of his employees were hit by debris from the crash, but he believes their injuries aren’t serious.
“Yeah. They okay,” he said.
Police say the driver of the SUV was taken to the hospital in non-critical condition. Chef claims the driver is an elderly man and says there was an elderly woman in the vehicle with him.
“I talked to them for a minute. They said they were doing okay,” Chef said, “I didn’t see anything that could possibly be life-altering for them at the moment. So, I just left the back of the hatch up so they could get some air to breathe and waited on the proper authorities to come help.”
Police say the driver drove through the Park and Getwell intersection before crashing into the gym. It’s unclear if investigators know why he lost control but they say he was issued a citation for “failure to maintain safe lookout”.
Chef is still assessing the damage and says he doesn’t know how much his insurance will cover.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said, “I started this gym with two balls and a jump rope. I even lived here because I couldn’t afford to pay bills here and somewhere else. I’m finna clean up, get back to business. Ain’t no stopping.”
Police haven’t said anything about that elderly woman’s condition.
