Car slams into store
CRANBERRY TWP — For the second time in 18 months a motorist drove through the front of the Yankee Candle store in the Streets of Cranberry just off Route 19.
No one was injured.
The accident occurred at 12:42 p.m. Tuesday when a woman driving an Acura RL sedan, accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, said township police Lt. Kevin Meyer.
Meyer said the driver as well as three people inside the store were unharmed.
“It’s fortunate no one was in the front of the store or on the walkway,” Meyer said, adding that if the accident had occurred on Black Friday there would likely have been injuries because it’s a big shopping day.
Police at the scene did not release the driver’s name.
Erin Johns, an employee of Yankee Candle, said there were two employees and one customer in the store at the time of the accident. Johns said a female customer was near the front of the store but managed to get out of the way as the car smashed through.
“It’s unfortunate, but no one got hurt, so that’s all that matters,” Johns said. “It’s a whole store full of glass, so there’s a lot of things to possibly get hurt on.”
Erin Vinay, store manager, said she was in the back of the store when the crash occurred.
“I head the noise. I saw the car come through,” she said.
Janet Konig of Cranberry said she was shopping in Chico’s, next to Yankee Candle, at the time.
“It sounded like an explosion,” Konig said. “We all came out to see. There was an old woman walking with a cane and almost got hit. She was shaking for five minutes afterward.”
Cranberry volunteer firefighters removed the car from the storefront and removed all the loose glass and brick to make the area safe for pedestrians.
Vinay said a construction crew was to board up the window and start doing repairs.
A car also drove into the store in May 2013.
Following that crash, the store was closed for one day for repairs. The damage from this accident appeared to be worse, Vinay said.
