Grocery shoppers in Sunnyvale got a scare instead of a bouquet run last Friday when an elderly driver trying to park shot through the front of a Safeway and kept going, traveling about 70 feet into the store before finally stopping in the floral department. Displays and aisles were left in pieces. One customer suffered minor cuts and bruises and was taken to a hospital as a precaution, while the driver and a passenger walked away uninjured.
What Officials Say Happened
According to CBS San Francisco, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said the car came in through the front of the Safeway on S. Bernardo Avenue and continued roughly 70 feet before coming to a stop among the flowers. Officials described the driver as an elderly man who was trying to park at the time of the crash.
In a release shared with local media, the department said the driver and his passenger were not hurt, while one shopper ended up with a few cuts and bruises and was taken for treatment. The release added a pointed reminder: “Please remember to operate motor vehicles responsibly and remain alert at all times,” according to WKRC/MyFOX28 Columbus.
How Often These Crashes Happen, And Why They Are Preventable
Experts who track vehicle-into-building incidents say this kind of crash is far more common than most people think and often preventable with relatively simple design choices. The Storefront Safety Council has documented tens of thousands of such crashes in its national database and recommends crash-rated barriers such as bollards to protect storefronts and busy pedestrian areas, according to the Storefront Safety Council.
Investigations and local ordinances that followed high-profile crashes at medical offices and retail centers have found that bollards can stop many impacts, and some communities only move to require them after a serious collision, a pattern reported by KXAN via Yahoo. Property owners and cities then have to balance those protections with access needs and ADA requirements when planning upgrades…