When an electric car rolled through the front entrance of a Nanaimo nail salon on Thursday, July 11, afternoon, its employees and clients were shaken, but uninjured.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue, B.C. Ambulance and RCMP rushed to the scene in the Bowen Centre shopping plaza at 1925 Bowen Rd. when the car collided with the building at about 2 p.m.
A witness to the incident said the vehicle jumped the curb as it pulled into a parking stall in front of the business and crashed through the front entrance glass door and window, plowing into the reception desk and cash counter.
"Basically, the lady came in to shop here," said Capt. Bryun Ashlie, Nanaimo Fire Rescue. "It was an electric vehicle. She thought it was de-energized and took her foot off the brake ... Nobody was hurt ... but there was significant damage to the building, mostly to the entrance window and main door."
Ashlie said he has attended several similar accidents in his career when drivers accidentally step on the accelerator instead of the brake.
"It does happen and fortunately most of the time there's no injuries," he said.
The woman driving the EV was reportedly also shaken up, but otherwise uninjured.
Employees of neighbouring business said they heard a loud bang and felt the entire building shake.
"It sounded like an explosion," said Miranda Marshall, nail technician. "All I saw was just glass and boom, full into the salon, and then the only thing we saw was just a vehicle explode through the front. It's terrifying. I'm shaking."
Marshall said there were four clients in the building when the car came through the window, but no customers or employees happened to be at the front counter when the incident occurred.
"Two [customers] were at the front waiting area," she said. "One of them was sitting in a small chair right beside where the car came in. Thankfully, she's completely fine."
The business will be closed until repairs can be made. None of the other businesses in the shopping plaza were impacted.
