New London — A car apparently drove into and damaged the CVS building at 817 Bank St. on Tuesday, before driving off, New London Fire Department Battalion Chief Jonathan Paige said.

He said no one was injured in the crash, which occurred about 5:50 p.m.

"It caused quite a bit of damage to the building at this point," Paige said.

The damaged area of the building exterior — where bricks had fallen — was cordoned off with yellow tape, and police and fire department personnel were on scene Tuesday evening.  First responders called the building official and shut down the store for the night as a precaution, he said. CVS also was expected to send someone to assess the damage.

It was not clear how long the store would be closed. New London police said they "observed considerable structural damage to the building" that needed more inspection.

Police said the driver left the scene before they arrived, but they have information about the vehicle and are investigating.

Erin Steel, pharmacy lead technician at the CVS, said she and other employees were busily working Tuesday evening to provide the best customer care possible when they heard a loud crash.

"The building shook," she said. "People screamed."

One employee called 911, while Steel and several other employees immediately ran out to see if anyone was hurt.

A photo from the interior of the building showed that a section of wall in the stationery department of the store buckled in and items had fallen off the shelves.

"Fortunately, no one was standing there at the time," Steel said.

Police ask anyone with information about the accident to call the department at (860) 447-5269, ext. 0.

k.drelich@theday.com