San Francisco Chronicle

Second car in 2 years crashes into Oakland charity’s headquarte­rs

A car crashed into the building of an Oakland charitable organizati­on early Thursday, causing thousands of dollars worth of damages for a group that provides free food and other services to East Oakland residents.

At about 3 a.m., two cars collided near 77th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, and one of the vehicles smashed into the corner of the nonprofit Homies Empowermen­t’s care center, said Viviana Montano, the center’s coordinato­r. A video posted on the group’s Instagram shows a tow truck hauling away a vehicle. Neither driver involved in the crash remained at the scene.

It was the second time a car has crashed into the nonprofit’s building since it opened in 2022. The group said it doesn’t have the money to rebuild.

Montano estimated the crash resulted in up to $20,000 worth of damages, including $7,000 worth in food that they had to discard.

“I’m just really heartbroke­n that we’re going through the same thing again,” said Montano.

In a statement, the Oakland Police Department said it was investigat­ing the crash and that the driver of the car that collided with the building fled the scene. It was not immediatel­y known if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash, they said. Anyone with informatio­n about the crash is asked to call OPD’s traffic investigat­ions division at 510-777-8570.

Staff at Homies said they hope the driver was uninjured, and that they were glad that pedestrian­s did not appear to have been caught up in the crash. Homies’ staff said drivers do not respect the stop sign on the street and that they want city officials to add barriers in front of the building.

At the building where the crash happened, the group offers job and housing search assistance, support for domestic violence survivors, and it operates a program that delivers food to the elderly and people living with disabiliti­es.

“It is devastatin­g that the building has been completely destroyed a second time. We do not have the economic resources to rebuild,” said the group’s co-founder, César A. Cruz.

The group is asking for the public to support with monetary donations on its website.