SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A family-owned business in Scranton is reeling after a hit-and-run crash that badly damaged their property. The owners are now looking for answers, hoping someone will come forward.

The family told 28/22 News while there have been instances when someone sideswiped their fence, they’ve never seen anything quite like this happen in their 42 years of business.

A chain link fence lies crumpled on the grounds of the Garden Path in Scranton’s Green Ridge Section.

It happened on Tuesday afternoon after a driver mowed down the fence during the business’s busiest season of the year.

“The phone rang, and I answered. It was my son, and I could tell by the frantic tone to his voice that something was off, and he said, ‘Mom, you’ve got to get down here right now.’ I said, ‘Babe, I just got home.’ He said, ‘No, you got to get down here,’” Garden Path Owner Sue Genovese explained.

“I looked out the window, and I saw the vehicle through the fence. There was a gentleman, I’m not really sure what he was doing, he was outside of the truck. I went out, I yelled at him, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ He saw me, ran back to the truck, jumped in the truck, and just took off,” the owner’s Son Joseph Genovese said.

Luckily, no one was injured, nor was anyone in the yard when it happened, but the damage to the property is extensive.

“Pretty much 100 feet of the fence has to be replaced. He ruined all my lights, all my temporary lights, my lightbulbs. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a couple thousand dollars’ worth of damage,” Joseph continued.

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The absence of any nearby cameras has the family resorting to Facebook for any tips, but days later, there are still no answers, and the crash is still keeping them up at night.

“Well, I couldn’t believe that someone was going with that kind of force!” Sue exclaimed.

The ‘what ifs’ are what’s causing the most stress for them.

“If there had been people that were here the day before, just one day prior, we still had quite a few trees, and there might’ve been people standing right there where he came through. Knowing the people that come here, that would be utter disaster for us because we would never get over the fact that to come to see us, someone was injured,” Sue added.

It will take some time to fix the damage, but the family is determined, and they are hoping whoever did this will do the right thing.

“Just to hold him accountable, you know, that’s all we’re really looking for, like I said, god forbid somebody was standing there, he really could’ve caused some major damage,” Joseph stated.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to reach out to Garden Path or the Scranton Police Department.

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