Elderly man drives through office wall
No one was in the office when the accident took place
An 81-year- old Richmond Township man was uninjured Wednesday morning after accidentally driving his vehicle through the wall of a local attorney’s office on 31 Mile Road just west of Gratiot.
According to Richmond Police Chief David Teske, the man entered the strip mall parking lot that has about four or five businesses at about 11 a.m. to take his dog to a veterinary appointment.
When he prepared to stop and park his car, he accidentally stepped on the gas pedal rather than the brake. The 2012 Chrysler Town and Country minivan lurched forward, hopped the sidewalk/curb, and slammed into the wall of The Frank Law Firm, P.C., which shared a common wall with the veterinary clinic.
The collision left a hole in the store front about the size of the front end of the minivan, Teske said. The chief said the driver was not intoxicated or impaired.
Ironically, the minivan driver’s auto insurance company, Farm Bureau, was in the same strip mall, Teske said, and the man exited his vehicle to file a claim next door.
Attorney Jon Frank arrived at his office shortly after the accident to see Richmond police investigating. Fortunately, no one was in the office when the accident took place. Frank admitted Thursday he was sort of oblivious to the scene around him when he arrived Wednesday morning. He said the police were parked in his normal parking spot, and he walked on past the scene and into his office. He didn’t realize under later that the car had damaged his office.
“I really had no idea what it was. At first I thought was salt,” Frank said of the insulation laying on the sidewalk after the accident. “I didn’t really see the damage when walking in. Then I’m working for about 15 minutes, and I went to front part of office, and I saw the sun shining through my wall.”
Frank said he saw the driver of the minivan, but he didn’t talk to him.
“I feel badly for him. I didn’t talk to him. I didn’t have the heart for it. I’m just glad he’s OK,” Frank said. “It’s my speculation that his kids probably should have taken his keys away from him. But he looked physically OK.”
On his Facebook page, Frank addressed the irony of being an attorney who deals with accident claims actually being the victim of an accident.
“We don’t often think about it, and most of my work as an experienced nofault attorney deals with getting my clients’ medical bills and wage loss replacement paid,” Frank said. “However, even us experienced no-fault attorneys get reminded of the basics, now and then. Shortly before my arrival to work this morning, a car went through the front wall of my office. I don’t like to keep anyone waiting, but occasionally, folks wait right there, where the car came in. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Property can be fixed.”
Frank was able to keep his sense of humor about the incident since a situation that could have been a lot worse ended with only a damaged building. He said the veterinary clinic next door to his office was started by his girlfriend’s ex-husband. And he has a relative who works for the insurance company. “This is small town America,” he said.