Woman undergoes five-hour op after car hits shop

Rupinder Gill says his wife's leg, broken in three places, will take up to six months to heal. Photo / Ruth Keber

A woman who sustained leg injuries after a car slammed through the front of a Papamoa shop has undergone five hours of surgery.

An elderly man parking at Papamoa's Fashion Island lost control of his car and careered through the front entrance of Centamax Superette on Gravatt Rd on August 2.

The driver, in his 80s, was parked adjacent to the store when he put his foot on the accelerator, sending the car through the front of the shop.

Centamax Superette owner Rupinder Gill said his wife underwent five hours of surgery at Tauranga Hospital on Saturday to repair her leg, which had been broken in three places.

The doctors had told him she would be fine but her leg would take up to six months to repair properly.

Business at the store had been slower since the accident but he was hoping it would pick up again once the front entrance was properly fixed within the next four weeks.

Mr Gill said bollards should be placed outside all stores which had adjacent parking to prevent more incidents like this.

The store was closed for three days while repairs and boarding up of the front entrance way took place.