Citrus Heights’ Safeway received an unwanted cosmetic adjustment over the weekend when a driver rammed his older-model Volvo into the front of the building, damaging a large pillar and part of the front wall.
According to employees, the crash resulted in a “ton of smoke,” accompanied by the smell of burning rubber in the store, which lingered for several hours afterwards.
A witness said the incident occurred when an “elderly gentleman” began backing up from his parking spot, but continued in reverse past an oncoming car — ripping the front bumper off the other vehicle — and then crashing through the side of a column before finally coming to a halt just outside Safeway’s entry doors, narrowly missing a family.
“I was scared,” a Safeway employee was overheard saying afterwards. “All I heard was a crash, and then saw a bunch of smoke.”
Although causing quite a scene for shoppers, reports indicate that no one was hurt in the incident and that the building did not suffer any structural damage.
The driver who had her front bumper ripped off by the runaway Volvo called the event an “accident,” and wasn’t upset with the driver for hitting her car, believing he had likely mixed up the gas and brake pedals.
