Crown Victoria takes out Little Caesars in Oak Harbor | UPDATED

Nobody sustained injuries Wednesday morning when a sedan crashed through an Oak Harbor pizza shop. At approximately 10:10 a.m., a woman driving a Ford Crown Victoria crashed through the front of Little Caesars, located in a strip mall on Highway 20 in Oak Harbor, and ended up at least halfway through the store. Oak Harbor Police Department officer Dennis Dickinson said it appears the woman in the Crown Victoria was traveling through the parking lot. When she approached the building, the woman appeared to have gotten confused about the accelerator and brake pedals and the car increased speed, the officer said.

By Nathan Whalen • February 27, 2013 1:50 pm
A fireman walks out of Little Caesars Pizza in Oak Harbor after a car drove through the front doors.
A fireman walks out of Little Caesars Pizza in Oak Harbor after a car drove through the front doors.

Nobody sustained injuries Wednesday morning when a sedan crashed through an Oak Harbor pizza shop.

At approximately 10:10 a.m., 84-year-old Coupeville resident Grace King drove her Ford Crown Victoria through the front of Little Caesars, located in a strip mall off of State Highway 20 in Oak Harbor. She ended up at least halfway through the store.

Oak Harbor police officer Dennis Dickinson said it appears the driver was traveling through the parking lot.

When she approached the building, Dickinson said that King apparently became confused about the accelerator and brake pedals and the car increased speed.

The sedan destroyed a large concrete planter along the walkway before crashing through the front glass.

The car plowed through the counters, destroyed shelves and came to a stop next to the restaurant’s freezers.

“We heard the crash and the walls shake,” said Colin Johnson, manager at Radio Shack, located in the space adjacent to Little Caesars.

Employees from neighboring businesses came outside to check out the commotion. An employee from Liberty Tax Service held a fire extinguisher used to douse a fire in the oven.

Two employees were working inside Little Caesars at the time of the crash. Both employees escaped injury.

Dickinson said medics checked out the driver of the car, but she also wasn’t injured.

Ray Merrill, chief of the Oak Harbor Fire Department, said the crash also broke a sprinkler head inside the building.

That damage caused the store to flood.

Firefighters used vacuums to suck up water that also seeped into neighboring businesses. They also swept up glass and removed other debris.

Radio Shack remained open despite the crash next door and the resulting water damage. The business on the other side, 123 Thai, delayed its opening into the afternoon while the water was vacuumed and an electrical issue was resolved, a store employee said.

The Little Caesar’s store manager, who refused to provide his name, said he didn’t know yet when the pizza shop will reopen.

“Tomorrow we’ll start rebuilding,” the manager said.

King was not cited for the accident and faces no charges.

Oak Harbor Police Sgt. Mike Bailey said nothing criminal occurred, and the accident didn’t take place on a public road.