‘Like hundreds and thousands on a cake’: Glass shards litter taekwondo studio floor after van smash

Owner of Koryo Taekwondo studio Master Camille Pruckmuller shows some of the damage. Photo / Paul Taylor

An early morning van crash into central business district buildings in Hastings has left a local Taekwondo studio with a floor of glass shards strewn around like “hundreds and thousands on a cake”.

Koryo Taekwondo NZ owner Master Camille Pruckmüller said she got to her Market St classroom on Sunday morning to find that a van had crashed through a parking machine and then careened through two of her studio’s front windows.

“It’s a big repair, but hopefully insurance companies can come to the party.”

Pruckmüller said the most difficult part of the repair would be dealing with the small shards of glass littered across the floor.

“The hardest part for me is all the glass shards that are all over our training mats and I can’t see where the glass starts and stops. It’s kind of like hundreds and thousands on a cake.”

Training wouldn’t be able to go ahead until all the mess had been cleared.

“We won’t be able to operate until this is all cleaned up. I might be able to find a park to train in but it’s a bit cold.”

A witness to the incident said they went over to investigate what had happened after seeing the smash and watched two people flee the scene before finding a man, who was initially unresponsive, still in the van.

“He accidentally hit the taekwondo building and the Cooperative Bank. He [also] took out the parking meter.

“Two took off, so he was by himself.”

A police spokesperson said the crash could potentially be linked to a medical event.

“We received a report of a collision involving a van and a commercial premises around 8.30am. Ambulance did respond but were asked to stand down.

“We’ve been speaking with the driver, so inquiries are ongoing to determine what has happened.”