BEECHVIEW — A Carrick woman is behind bars after police said she was driving under the influence and crashed into a dance studio on Route 51 shortly before midnight Saturday.
According to court documents obtained by Channel 11, Christine Kuntz, 49, told police that she and her male passenger had just left the casino, and got into an argument while driving. Kuntz allegedly told officers that her passenger grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the white Kia Sportage off the roadway.
The vehicle first hit a parked car that had two people inside of it, before smashing into the building. Those two passengers were not hurt, but Kuntz’ passenger was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The force of the wreck caused a gaping hole in the building and sent cinder blocks flying across the main dance studio of Technique by Toni.
Owner Toni Dobransky told Channel 11 that she woke up to messages on Sunday from her landlord and her father, who is the building manager.
“My dad just kept saying ‘don’t go down there, you’re not going to want to see this as bad as it is,’” Dobransky told us.
Ballet bars that had been affixed to the wall came crashing down.
“Obviously, it was late at night, but sometimes we’re here,” she said. “There could have been severe consequences ... I’m just so glad that nobody was here.”
Dobransky spoke with Channel 11 on Tuesday. Much of the debris had been cleaned up, but she is now tasked with getting the wall repaired. She hopes the repair can be completed within the two weeks that the studio is closed for the holidays. Her students had recently wrapped up their Christmas shows, within the very room where the crash occurred. Should the repairs take longer than hoped, the studio has other rooms available to resume classes in the new year.
“Everybody’s safe here,” she said. “We’re grateful for the first responders who took the time to make sure we knew about it ... I hope that the people involved will be OK.”
According to court documents, Kuntz declined to go to the hospital and was instead taken to jail. She has been charged with driving under the influence and other offenses. An attorney for her was not publicly listed at the time this article was published.
“Due to Kuntz’s statements on [her passenger] taking control of the wheel and causing the accident, this investigation is to be continued ... pending [her passenger’s] recovery,” according to the criminal complaint.
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