Driver crashes into local business Sunday morning – flees
When you hear of a hitandrun accident, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a collision involving multiple vehicles.
However, for employees at Storey’s Floor and Carpet, Inc., a driver colliding with their store building wasn’t expected.
According to store employees, the incident happened around 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning and that afternoon owner Kenny Storey was notified that the store had been damaged after a vehicle collided into the building.
“He came off the bypass (Hwy 167 southbound), down the embankment and through the fence at full speed,” says sales associate Jim Oliver.
A wheel path can be seen through the tall grass along with the mangled remains of a bordering metal fence where Hwy 167 and Lorene Street come together near the business.
A video surveillance system captured the incident.
“There were no tire marks,” says Oliver pointing from the path to the crumpled metal of the business’s warehouse. “It must have been some kind of noise when he hit that thing,” says Oliver. The sheer impact of the vehicle punctured the corner of the building’s warehouse and bent an industrial-grade shelving unit inside.
According to Oliver, the video shows the driver getting out of the vehicle after impact, stumbling around as if injured and then finally pulling out a cellphone and making a call.
Later, footage reveals another driver arriving with a woman.
The second driver got into the vehicle lodged into the store wall and started it. “Believe it or not, it cranked up. The headlights were still working. He backed it out and they (all) drove off,” says Oliver.
Associates at Storey’s Floor and carpet are hopeful authorities can identify the culprits through the security footage.