The owner of a Maple Ridge salon is relieved that nobody was injured after a vehicle smashed through her front entrance Monday afternoon.
Michele Rae, owner of Mardecus Hair Studio at 206 Street and Lougheed Highway, said she was at the orthodontist when she found out that a car flew through the front of her hair salon, missing a client by mere inches.
The accident happened at around 12:30 p.m. as a client was sitting in the front foyer waiting for a pick up after her appointment.
The car came in on an angle, noted Rae, adding that there were three stylists, one receptionist, and three clients in the salon at the time of the crash.
Rae’s receptionist just happened to be in the back of the studio talking to one of the stylists when they heard a horrendous noise, she said.
“It went through the front two windows and two doors, right to the front desk,” said Rae.
“Maybe an inch from the front desk,” she added. “Even the veterinarian next door, it shook their building.”
Rae estimates that the vehicle missed her client by about three inches.
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“A young girl, so shaken up,” she said.
The driver was about 70-years-old and the only person in the car, Rae noted, adding she is relieved not a single person went to the hospital.
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“All these things can be replaced and I’m just so thankful that nobody was hurt,” she said.
Const. Julie Klaussner with the Ridge Meadows RCMP confirmed that a single vehicle incident took place in the 20600 block of Lougheed Highway.
“Unfortunately a 72-year-old woman, who was driving a sedan at the time of the incident mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake and collided into the building,” explained Klaussner.
“Thankfully nobody sustained any injuries and everyone was unharmed,” she said, adding the driver of the vehicle did receive a violation ticket.
Rae expects that she will have to board up the front of her salon, but she is expecting to still operate letting clients through the back door instead.
And she is also hoping to work with the property manager to have posts installed in front of businesses in the plaza to ensure something like this will not happen again.
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