On Oct. 23 at 8:50 am on Patriot Lane, the sound of glass breaking rang through the air. As customers in Trader Joe’s frantically looked for the source, they found a car had crashed into the front of the store. The crash was caused by a Toyota Corolla when a 77-year-old male driver parked in a handicapped spot mistakenly pushed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing him, the car and the 74-year-old passenger to fly into the front doors of Trader Joe’s.
In the crash, the building’s sliding glass doors and a signpost were damaged. The car was towed away, and the building underwent assessment for structural damage by the Centre Region Code Administration.
No injuries were reported, as the crash occurred at a statistically uncrowded time for the store. Trader Joe’s was unable to resume operations for a total of two hours and 10 minutes, according to Patton Township Police Chief Tyler Jolley, causing potential financial losses. Jax Green, a State College local, was really shocked to learn about the crash.
“I know a car crash broke the front doors. And like the people driving were not injured, so that is good,” Jax Green said, commenting on the people in the crash.
After the crash, Trader Joe’s closed operations that day. This caused many customers and State College locals to have to go other places to get their groceries, halting Trader Joe’s income.
“I was gonna go to Trader Joe’s with my mom to search for some Cheetos and stuff. And we found out about that crash, and I was just like, oh, man, I couldn’t go to Trader Joe’s that day, and I was just really sad about that,” Nate Tyndall, who planned on going to Trader Joe’s right after school, said.
Surprisingly, this is the second time a car has driven into Trader Joe’s. On Oct. 21, 2018, an 88-year-old woman made the same mistake of pressing the accelerator instead of the brake and crashed her Mercedes-Benz C-300 into the front doors of the store.
Now, because of the most recent crash, Trader Joe’s front door is under renovation all the way into December. However, the store is still open and continues to welcome customers.
