Pool store hit during snowstorm
FRANKLIN TWP — The coincidence was hard to ignore.
On a cold, snowy and blustery Tuesday, an out-of-control car struck — of all buildings — one housing Country Pools and Spas.
The building on Route 422 in Mount Chestnut sustained structural damage but no one was injured in the accident about 8:45 a.m.
Luck had a little bit to do with the outcome.
“We literally were shoveling snow three minutes before he hit our building,” said Kate Wernecke of Kittanning, general manager of the business, referring to the driver. “If we were still out there, he would have plowed right over us.”
State police heard the call and stopped by to make sure everyone was OK. But because the car involved could be driven from the scene and there were no injuries, the accident is considered “non-reportable.”
The driver, Randon Simmons of Hermitage, Mercer County, was eastbound on Route 422, on his way to work at Butler Memorial Hospital, when he lost control of his Chrysler 200, according to police.
The vehicle went off the right side of the road, through the parking lot and into the side of the building by the front door.
“The back of the car hit (the building) once, bounced off and then hit it again,” Wernecke said.
The crash broke a window on the side of the door and, employees estimated, pushed the building about an inch off its foundation.
