A worker inside a nail salon in Lemon Grove was pinned against a wall Wednesday after a driver crashed into the business, the car slamming against a desk where the employee had been sitting.
The accident was caught on the shop's surveillance camera. The video shows the car suddenly plowing through the entrance of T Nails Design in Lemon Grove, violently pushing a desk and pinning an employee between the desk and a spa chair.
The car narrowly misses the victim. The worker manages to get up seconds after the crash, looking at the entrance and the car in shock.
A second employee runs into the frame and then several bystanders can be seen rushing into the business, helping the driver and the victim.
The driver, a 77-year-old woman, is pulled out of the car. The video shows her slowly walking away from the wreck, assisted by several bystanders.
According to investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO), the crash happened just before 10:15 a.m. as the driver tried to park in the lot at the strip mall at 7133 Broadway, a main street in Lemon Grove.
As the driver made her way into a parking space in front of the salon she, for unknown reasons, failed to stop her car and kept driving forward, hopping the curb and crashing into the salon.
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She plowed through the glass entrance and traveled about 40 feet into the business, the SDSO said.
Investigators said one other employee was in the salon at the time of the crash, but that person was not hurt. There were no customers inside the shop.
The driver complained of pain and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The woman who was pinned behind the desk suffered injuries to her arm and told officials she would seek medical treatment on her own.
Investigators requested an engineer to examine the structure. The building was deemed safe but was boarded and closed immediately following the accident.
The driver was not cited, but investigators ordered a re-examination for her at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
This was the second such incident of a driver ramming into a San Diego store on Wednesday.
About 20 minutes before the Lemon Grove crash, an elderly woman plowed her red sedan through a Dollar Tree store in Chula Vista, winding up about 30 feet inside the discount store, on top of merchandise displays filled with Halloween decorations.
The driver in that incident was also taken to a hospital. No one inside the discount store was hurt, but customers and employees were rattled by the crash, as seen in this video shot by a witness.
