Photos courtesy of Kit Latham and Jessica Thomson. 

Long Beach police are investigating whether a motorist was impaired when she rear-ended a motorcyclist late Wednesday night and then fled the scene before crashing into an East Village business about a block away.

Police responded to the scene of the hit-and-run injury collision at 11:02PM on Wednesday, August 9 at East 4th Street and Alamitos Avenue, according to Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) spokesman Sgt. Brad Johnson.

Arriving officers found the adult male motorcyclist at the scene with minor injuries.

“The preliminary investigation indicated the motorcyclist was stopped on Alamitos Avenue at East 4th Street waiting to continue northbound through the intersection when he was struck by a vehicle from behind,” Johnson said. “After striking the motorcyclist, the vehicle driven by a female adult fled the scene and crashed into a nearby business.”

That business was an Ace Hardware store, at East 4th Street near Olive Avenue, according to witnesses, resulting in major damage to the building that required Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) personnel to respond and evaluate the safety of the building, Johnson said.

The driver was located a short distance away and later arrested, according to Johnson. She and her adult male passenger sustained minor injuries.

{FG_GEOMAP [33.7717171,-118.18130500000001] FG_GEOMAP}