The crash seemed to happen in slow motion.
“Nobody saw it coming,” a Lopez Village Market employee working at the deli counter said. “We heard this crazy, crashing sound and saw the car coming through the window. The glass was breaking as the car was coming through. It seemed to take a long time. It was very surreal.”
An SUV jumped the curb and crashed into the market on Weeks Road Nov. 2 during the noon lunch hour. The vehicle drove into the deli and, according to witnesses, stopped after it hit the checkout counter.
One man was seen being taken from the scene on a gurney; the extent of his injuries were not immediately known but were not believed to be serious, according to Cathi Brewer of The Islands’ Weekly.
A woman, described by Brewer as “shaken,” was led from the scene to an EMT vehicle but not an ambulance.
A witness said he saw a man, possibly a lunch customer, being led from the scene with scratches. Brewer said one person was sitting at the deli counter when the crash occurred, and needed stitches on a knee.
Brewer said at least three fire trucks, two sheriff’s deputies, one EMT vehicle, one ambulance, and the fire marshal went to the scene.
Witnesses said the Volvo SUV came into the parking space at an angle and the driver may have hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes. The vehicle went through the glass doors into the deli, stopping short of the pastry case. The impact moved the deli case a foot. The deli bar was “swung around the room” by the impact, pushing people toward the fireplace, Brewer said. “Those are people who were injured, but it’s not known how many had injuries. No employees were injured and the fire department responded very quickly.”
Within two hours, the car was removed from the building, employees were getting the deli straightened out and the market was back open for business, Brewer said.
Lopez Village Market moved from Village Road to Weeks Road in April. It has been owned by the Carpenter family since 1959.
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