Drunk driver crashes into East Austin tattoo shop

Accused drunk driver crashes into tattoo shop

An east Austin tattoo shop is feeling the impact this holiday season after a driver crashed into their building.

AUSTIN, Texas - An East Austin tattoo shop is feeling the impact this holiday season after a driver crashed into their building.

Austin police said no injuries were reported after this drunk-driving crash.

Drunk driving crash in East Austin

The backstory:

Studio Ink just reopened its doors, but the owner said his business had to close for eight days.

Mark Strong’s East Austin tattoo shop was already closed for the night on December 7 when things quickly took an unexpected turn.

"It looks like an earthquake. I mean, the whole building shakes, broken glass, the, the hole works," said Mark Strong, owner of Studio Ink. 

Footage captured the moment a car slammed into his business in the shopping center on E 7th. 

Strong says the car crashed into the building at a high rate of speed, shattering the front window and destroying a part of the wall that links Studio Ink to its next-door neighbor Dominos. Dominos confirmed its location will be closed for months, after damage to its kitchen.

Strong says fortunately his shop was closed because someone is typically sitting where the crash happened.

"There's a solid steel I-beam that runs in between the two buildings, in between drywall there. And had he not hit that I-beam, two more feet to the left or to the right, he could have gone all the way through Dominos, or he would have gone all the way, through probably to the back of the building," said Strong. 

APD identified the driver as 47-year-old John Kim. He was arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail and was charged with driving while intoxicated.

For Studio Ink, the timing couldn't have been worse ahead of the holidays.

"We were out of business for eight straight days. You know, during the holiday season where, yeah, we could certainly have used the income from doing the work. Weren't able to," said Strong. 

Strong says while the tattoo stations were not damaged, the front lobby and desk area took the brunt of the hit and repairs will take time.

"Talking to the estimator, the contractor, he was saying about three to four weeks, probably just to get the permits necessary, and then another three to four weeks to get actual repairs done," said Strong. 

Strong says if you'd like to support the business, you can get a tattoo or donate to their GoFundMe.