Cadillac crashes into Westco storefront
The Cadillac drove through the storefront of Westco, landing completely inside the store. Photo by Gary Mitchell.
March 18, 2015
Charlea Mills
A car crashed into Cassville’s Westco on Thursday morning after the accelerator supposedly got stuck, causing significant damage to the storefront and some of the furniture inside. The huge crash garnered a lot of attention from people who were around the Cassville square that morning, with many outside looking on shortly after the wreck.
The car, a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood, driven by Wallace H. Adams, 89, of Cassville, was parking in front of Westco, according to Lt. Danny Boyd with the Cassville Police Department, when it accelerated and crashed through the front of the building around 9 a.m. Boyd said that no charges were filed in the incident, nor were there any reported injuries.
According to store manager Mark Whittemire, there were four people in the store at the time of the incident: himself, employee Sandy Baker and delivery personnel Karl Brant and Jason Rayburn. Whittemire said, “It sounded like a bomb went off. It was very loud inside the building.” He also said that all of the employees were back at the desk, out of harm’s way when the car crashed.
Whittemire said that he and Brant were the first to reach the car once it stopped. He said, “The driver was still in the car and accelerating. I don’t know if it was stuck or if he had his foot on it, thinking it was the brake, but the back wheels were still spinning and it hit very fast.
“Karl reached the car first and opened the passenger door and turned the key off.”
The Cassville Fire Department assisted the police at the scene, and the Cadillac, which ended up completely inside the store, was towed out by Brice’s Towing, of Cassville.
Whittemire said that they estimate the damage to be around $22,000 including the furniture, window, building and carpet. Currently, the front of the store is boarded up, and a 30 foot by 45 foot section of the store is roped off to keep people away from the affected area.
Whittemire said, “We are still waiting on approval from the insurance company before repairs are made.”
The store never closed due to the incident as the entrance was not affected.
Charlea Mills
A car crashed into Cassville’s Westco on Thursday morning after the accelerator supposedly got stuck, causing significant damage to the storefront and some of the furniture inside. The huge crash garnered a lot of attention from people who were around the Cassville square that morning, with many outside looking on shortly after the wreck.
The car, a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood, driven by Wallace H. Adams, 89, of Cassville, was parking in front of Westco, according to Lt. Danny Boyd with the Cassville Police Department, when it accelerated and crashed through the front of the building around 9 a.m. Boyd said that no charges were filed in the incident, nor were there any reported injuries.
According to store manager Mark Whittemire, there were four people in the store at the time of the incident: himself, employee Sandy Baker and delivery personnel Karl Brant and Jason Rayburn. Whittemire said, “It sounded like a bomb went off. It was very loud inside the building.” He also said that all of the employees were back at the desk, out of harm’s way when the car crashed.
Whittemire said that he and Brant were the first to reach the car once it stopped. He said, “The driver was still in the car and accelerating. I don’t know if it was stuck or if he had his foot on it, thinking it was the brake, but the back wheels were still spinning and it hit very fast.
“Karl reached the car first and opened the passenger door and turned the key off.”
The Cassville Fire Department assisted the police at the scene, and the Cadillac, which ended up completely inside the store, was towed out by Brice’s Towing, of Cassville.
Whittemire said that they estimate the damage to be around $22,000 including the furniture, window, building and carpet. Currently, the front of the store is boarded up, and a 30 foot by 45 foot section of the store is roped off to keep people away from the affected area.
Whittemire said, “We are still waiting on approval from the insurance company before repairs are made.”
The store never closed due to the incident as the entrance was not affected.