Angry at Crunch Gym staff, Whittier man drives car through front window, almost striking employee, police say

A motivational message on the gym’s wall reads: “Set some goals. Then demolish them.”

A 32-year-old Whittier man apparently took that message to heart after the gym canceled his membership for “inappropriate behavior,” and he retaliated by ramming a car through the front window of the Crunch Gym in La Mirada, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Sergio G. Reyes was charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of vandalism over $400 in damages and one count of driving or taking a vehicle without consent, the district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Reyes had previously argued with gym staff and stated he would return, according to prosecutors.

Authorities say that return came at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when Reyes drove a relative’s 2008 Honda Accord through the wall of the 24-hour gym. No one was seriously injured.

Surveillance video obtained by ABC 7 Eyewitness News shows a gym employee standing at the reception desk bounding away as Reyes plowed through the wall. The employee had barely a moment to respond and came within only a few feet of being hit.

Witnesses told Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies that they heard the revving of an engine, followed by the crash.

When Reyes fled the scene, witnesses followed and saw him get into the getaway car, Reyes’ 2019 Toyota Corolla, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The getaway driver then winded through several streets trying to lose the witnesses, who were following in another vehicle. But the driver hit the curb at Alicante Road and Manzanares Road and fled that scene.

Deputies quickly nabbed Reyes and arrested him.

In 2006, Reyes was convicted of robbery in Los Angeles County, according to the criminal complaint. If convicted as charged, he faces a possible maximum sentence of more than 25 years in state prison.