Damage minimal after car strikes front of store

HELMETTA — A convenience store was closed for part of the day Friday after a customer accidentally crashed into the front of the building.

The accident occurred at 9:42 a.m. when a 1992 Honda Accord being driven by Lauren Lopez, 21, of Monroe, hit the front door area of Helmetta Foods, located at Main Street and Old Forge Road. Lopez had been pulling into a parking spot in front of the store when she accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake, according to Helmetta Police Chief Cully Lewis.

Lopez was not seriously injured, and nobody inside the store was affected by the accident, Lewis said.

The store was closed for several hours while work was performed to correct the damage.

A man who answered the phone at the store said the floor was cracked and the door frame damaged by the accident, but he was thankful to the landlord, Renaissance Properties, for responding so quickly to get the store reopened that afternoon.

“We were ready to open at 3:30,” he said.