SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Occupants of Bijou Boutique were startled late Wednesday afternoon when a four-door Toyota Rav crashed through its storefront window on 50 Avenue and 50 Street downtown.
A four-door Toyota Rav went through the wall and glass of Bijou Boutique at the intersection of 50 Avenue and 50 Street late Wednesday afternoon in a two-vehicle accident. The vehicle was considerably damaged as were many of the goods inside of the store. No one was seriously injured. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo |
Kate Bolivar, a manager in the store, said the noise of the crash was unlike anything she'd heard before as she was attending to a few customers.
"My first thought was that it sounded like a gunshot because I just couldn't think of what else it could have been," Bolivar said.
Bolivar and store owner Jill Groenewegen were going over the damage Thursday morning in preparation for a late start at noon. Damage included broken tea mugs, window decals, a shattered store-front window, which was boarded up, and minor impact to shelving that was knocked over by the car.
"We have no idea how much damage there is yet," Groenewegen said, expressing amazement some of her cabinet shelving was preserved. "Kate had actually spent all day setting up a tea and mug section so it ended up funny that she wasn't in the area (when the crash happened)."
The store was able to carry on until close despite the damage as three more customers came through, Groenewegen said.
Groenewegen, who is preparing for her third Christmas running the store, said she was grateful no one was injured from the collision.
Dr. Andrew Kotaska, who was driving the Rav, said he was travelling with his son southbound in the vehicle toward the intersection around 5:30 p.m. when a female driver in a Nissan Xterra heading north made a left turn across his lane.
"It pushed us off course and into the Bijou gallery," he said. "I slammed onto the brakes but kept control and swerved over and then took the impact on the left front quarter panel, front driver's door and down to the rear door. That was the damage to us but not a whole lot of other damage to the other vehicle."
Kotaska was doubtful his vehicle was repairable because the whole front left tire was twisted in and the drive shaft was gone. There were also dents on the left side making the door difficult to open, but no airbags went off, he said.
No serious injuries were reported at the scene, for which Kotaska also said he was grateful.
"We were probably only going 20 km/hr once we hit the wall and the glass but once I knew everyone was OK and no one on the sidewalk was hurt and I was OK and my kid was OK, I thought to myself - 'Wow, that was a good one,'" he said. " Kind of like the movies."
The RCMP and the city's municipal enforcement and fire divisions were on scene shortly after the incident as were emergency medical personnel.
The collision follows a similar collision that took place at the Kilt and Castle where an SUV jumped the curb and crashed into the pub walls, Dec. 3.
