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Car Crashes Into DMV In Fayetteville

January 15, 2012 by · Comments Off on Car Crashes Into DMV In Fayetteville 

Car Crashes Into DMV In FayettevilleCar Crashes Into DMV In Fayetteville, Several people were hurt Thursday when a driver who was completing a road test crashed through the Division of Motor Vehicles office on Elm Street.

It was the second time since September that a car has plowed through the window of the DMV office at Eutaw Village shopping center.

The crash happened just after noon when 77-year-old Annie Gore of the 3600 block of Westchester Drive was returning from her road test, according to Fayetteville police.

“She did the road test and was getting into her parking space and mistook the gas for the brake,” said B.L. Pruett, the DMV examiner who was riding with Gore. “I could see what was coming, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

The 2008 Acura leaped over the curb, knocked out a support pillar and crashed through a large window.

“It sounded like we were blowing up,” said Sherry Jones, a DMV worker. “I thought it was a bomb.”

The impact sent chairs flying while people scrambled to get out of the way. A support column was demolished, and a steel pole was lodged against the side of Gore’s car.

Two men were brought out of the office on gurneys and loaded into an ambulance. Both appeared to have suffered leg injuries.

Ailene Sims, 51, limped out of the building.

“I was sitting on a chair, and the other chair came flying across and hit me,” she said.

Sims said she did not see the car crash into the building but heard what sounded like an explosion.

Her daughter, 32-year-old Serena Coley, said people inside were jumping over desks and diving under chairs.

“One of the girls said she was sitting in the chairs when it hit and it pushed her out of the way,” Coley said. “My life flashed before my eyes.”

Her sister, Olivia Newsome, 20, was shaken and dissolved into tears as Coley described the impact.

All three said they planned to go to the hospital to be checked out.

Immediately after the crash, people began to help one another, said Jones, the DMV worker. Several helped pull Gore from her car. She appeared to be shaken up.

Pruett, the examiner, said he crawled out of a rear window of the Acura.

Damage to the building was estimated at $50,000, police said. Cam Stout, the property owner, said he was told by building inspectors that the damage was not structural.

No charges had been filed by Wednesday evening, police said.

The office is expected to remain closed until next week, Stout said.

Anyone who needs DMV services should go to the office at 2439 Gillespie St., near the Crown Coliseum.

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