Business Smashed By Young Driver
An East Ridge business that is used to cleaning pets is cleaning up their shop Tuesday, after a car smashes through the brick wall. Police say a teenager was behind the wheel, and fell asleep, driving off the road and crashing into the building. Now, crews are working to reconstruct the damaged walls and make sure the building is safe.
The stores inside will be closed until at least the weekend. But for one of the owners this isn't the first hit on their business. Scraps of the brick building are scooped away from where they used to sit as a solid structure. But around 3 Tuesday morning, the wall became a window.
Jill Wilkinson owns Drool Creations, the pet grooming shop in East Ridge where the car collided. "I got a phone call from my security company at 3am saying that there's a car accident, a car crashed into my building."
East Ridge Police Spokesperson says, "The investigators on scene determined it was a juvenile driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel."
Hopkins says they don't believe alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident. He says the 17 year old driver first hit an electrical pole before slamming into the building.
The force slid the businesses off the foundation, and inspectors condemned it until it's structurally safe. Wilkinson showed us the worst of the damage. "All of this has to be replaced, this whole section from what I understand."
Meanwhile, Wilkinson is now worrying about her second insurance claim this month. Burglars broke in the back door on March 4th, and stole four thousand dollars worth of grooming equipment. "They took everything, so between that and dealing with insurance companies, and now this, I'm all out of smiles for a minute."
But this business owner isn't out of humor. As crews measure and make adjustments to her missing wall, she makes jokes about a new marketing plan. "He made my groom shop a drive thru."
As for the 17 year old driver, police tell us he is okay. Authorities say he will not face any charges for the accident.
