A man died after the car he was driving crashed into a south Omaha beauty salon during what witnesses say was a street race after midnight Friday.
Police identify the victim as Armando Armas, 34, Omaha.
The storage room of the Nice Look Salon has cinder blocks broken across a small parking lot at 37th and Q.
Chelsey Reed says her boyfriend, Armas, was always happy.
“He loved life and he loved to enjoy every moment of it,” Reed said. “He was never angry or mad or sad or anything. He loved everything about life. He loved his kids. He’s just an enjoyable person to be around.”
Reed says she can’t image what the family is going through.
“I’m just lost for words,” Reed said. “I loved him so much and I can’t even think or even have the thought of what his family and his kids are going through.”
Police say Armas was likely racing a white, mid-90s Ford Explorer on Q St. when the 34-year-old lost control of a 2002 Mustang, crossed a parking lot and crashed into the salon.
Armas died after police tried CPR.
This is the third time in a week a car crashed through a building in Omaha, said Jay Davis, assistant city planning director.
“It’s becoming more and more of a regular for us,” Davis said. “Cars are hitting buildings and we don’t know why. Hopefully we don’t have any fatalities with them. This is the first fatality we’ve had in a while.”
While Davis says the Salon could open for business within a few days, Cynthia Rodriguez says each day her salon is closed puts a squeeze on her livelihood.
“Maybe a week,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t know yet. To all my clients: everything is great. It’s a bump in the road but hopefully we’ll be back up and ready to go.”
Police continue their investigation and are looking for the driver of the Explorer supposedly racing against Armas early Friday morning.
