LA CRESCENT, Minnesota (WXOW) - La Crescent Police say a 46 year old woman drove her van deliberately into the side of the Apple Village Liquor Store Wednesday afternoon.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported either with the driver or in the building.
The driver told police she was traveling west on Main Street and was preparing to stop at the stop sign when something went wrong with her vehicle; a mechanical failure prevented her from stopping.
Rather than go through the intersection and perhaps collide with another car or a pedestrian, she chose to steer into the outside wall of the liquor store at the corner of Walnut and Main Street.
The owner of the building was working next door and could feel the impact.
"The whole building shook," said Troy Nolop, who owns the property as well as Corky's Pizza. "We thought it was possibly thunder but we didn't think it was ready to rain or storm. And we came running outside and saw the van in the side of the building."
No passengers were in the vehicle, and the driver's airbag did not deploy.
Nolop tells WXOW he has contractors who will cover the gaping hole in the wall and secure the business.
The timing may have prevented serious injury. The vehicle crashed through the wall into the spot where the liquor store operator usually sits. He had gotten up just a few minutes before.
The incident is still under investigation.
