VIDEO: U-Haul seen backing into auto repair business

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - Police are trying to find out who used a rented U-Haul truck to back into an auto store in Stockbridge on Christmas Night.

App users: Click here for the complete story

It happened at Liberty Auto Repair and Service located along East Atlanta Road near Old Conyers Road. Surveillance video provided by police show a 15-foot U-Haul truck smashing into one of the closed garage bays

The U-Haul missed the first time, with a pile of tires taking the brunt of the hit. The truck moved forward and then back into the roll-up doors, but it never caved.

The driver then is seen driving away from the scene.

"After they hit the wall they realized the building may fall on them and they took off," said owner Quy Phan.

Henry County Police cannot say if the motive is burglary or if the person wanted to cause damage to the property, speculating the driver may have been upset with the business or owner. Phan believes they were after equipment.

"Cars are high tech and we have to keep up with that. Our equipment are invested, high tech expensive, but thank god they didn't get in and take any of that," the owner said.

%INLINE%

The owner was forced to close the day he discovered the building because the fire department said the building was not safe due to the damage. It has been nearly three weeks and the store is still not back open. And the owner said if it wasn't raining Friday, he'd be in the parking lot working on cars.

Phan said there have been a lot of red tape in getting the business fixed.

"Insurance inspections, the weather played a major role for construction and they have to special order certain kinds of bricks and the doors," said Phan.

He said he hopes whoever did this to him is caught before someone else find themselves in his shoes.

"You’re talking in four minutes they did $85,000 worth of damage. That's not something you make up in a week, or even months. Small businesses have it hard enough. It's a slap in the face," he said.

Police have asked U-Haul businesses pay attention to the trucks leaving and entering their lots to see if any of them have backend damage.