Woman crashes through pizza parlor’s lobby

Posted 9/5/23

A woman drove through the Papa Murphy’s door and into the lobby around noon on Tuesday, Aug. 29. 

According to Deputy Chief Jeff Thaxton, the woman lost control of her vehicle; she …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Woman crashes through pizza parlor’s lobby

Posted

A woman drove through the Papa Murphy’s door and into the lobby around noon on Tuesday, Aug. 29. 


According to Deputy Chief Jeff Thaxton, the woman lost control of her vehicle; she had a medical condition, and believed she was hitting the brake as she hit the accelerator instead.


“Her son, who had his license removed [for a similar reason] was in the passenger seat, telling her to stop,” Thaxton said. 
“She said she tried.”


Justin Jennings, manager at Papa Murphy’s, was inside when it happened. “I was just making pizza—you know, as a pizza man does,” he said.


“She drove all the way in. She cleared both doors, clipped the wall closest to the big windows, hit the pop cooler and shattered it.”


Jennings marveled at how fortunate he and everyone else involved was.
“A customer had just left the store two minutes prior,” he told The Leader. 


“Lucky timing.”


He added that the car also stopped just short of the counter, where they make the pizzas. 


“I was pretty calm through the whole thing,” Jennings said. 
“Me and my coworker jumped out of the way when it happened. Then we went to check and see if she and the passenger were alright.”


Jennings noted they were uninjured, but badly shaken.


“We escorted them through the back, since, you know, there was a car in the front door. The firemen intercepted and took things from there,” he explained.


Sergeant Kamal Sharif was at the scene. He submitted a driver evaluation request form. Therefore, the state will determine whether the woman’s license will get revoked based on this incident.
No injuries were reported. 


The damage will be assessed and repaired. Until then, Papa Murphy’s remains open with normal hours, just not a normal door.