Staff writer
Tuesday was an eventful morning for those near Dale’s Supermarket as a man from Hope jumped the curb in front of the building with his Lincoln Towncar. The man’s identity was not available before press time.
No one was hurt in the accident, which happened around 10:15 a.m. However, the building now features a roughly 3-foot-by-2-foot hole east of the main entrance. The car’s front came to rest partially inside the building and pushed an ice cooler feet away from its normal home against the wall.
Store owner Dale Franz said the driver thought he was in reverse when he hit the gas pedal.
Workers and customers were able to get out of the way. Franz’s son, Brandon, was the closest to the ice machine, but was able to jump out of the way in time.
“There was a bit of a boom,” Brandon said.
A construction company came to assess the building’s damage and will have the brick cleaned up, and the hole blocked by tonight, Franz said.
“This is not the first time this building has been hit,” he said. “It’s probably been hit five times the last one being 15 years ago. It happens. You just clean up and move on.”
The car had to be towed.