The vehicle demolished the front window of the shop before wiping out the front counter and injuring an employee working behind it. Photo / Chris Bruce
A woman who tried to multi-task by putting a Jandal on as she was parking her car instead ploughed through a store window, narrowly avoiding causing serious injury to the staff member and customer inside.
The 23-year-old woman was returning a DVD to the Video Ezy store in Horsham Downs,
Hamilton, yesterday morning when she lost control of her Honda Civic.
She had pulled into a carpark in front of the store and was trying to put a Jandal on. But while pushing her foot in, she depressed the car's accelerator.
Schoolteacher Louise Graafhuis had just put her movies into the return slot and was exchanging small talk with the staff member when there was a "massive crash" and the front of the store caved in before her eyes.
The car, which had narrowly missed her, "completely wiped out" the counter and caused severe bruising to the staff member standing behind it.
"At first I thought she [the staff member] was a goner. I was too afraid to look for a little while," said Ms Graafhuis.
"She opened her eyes but she really wasn't with it for a while. She was really in shock, which is understandable. I told her she was okay but she was lucky, incredibly lucky."
"The girl who came out of the car was so upset and so devastated by what had happened. She went into shock too. I just told her to sit down and try and be calm."
Both the staff member and the driver, with a minor shoulder injury, were treated for shock by ambulance staff but neither required hospital treatment.
Store manager Tracey Black was out enjoying a coffee and something to eat over her morning break when she heard what had happened.
"A friend came and got me and said, 'Hey, there's a car in your shop'."
"I came back and there was glass everywhere. It was a mess and ... at the time I feared the worst for the staff, but it was nowhere near as bad as I first thought."
Waikato police said the incident was a reminder to avoid distractions while driving.
