Car Crashes Into Building In Highland Park
Updated 08/08/13 - 10:00 p.m.
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A car crashed into a Binny's Beverage Depot in Highland Park and caught fire Thursday morning and no one was seriously hurt.
CBS 2's Ed Curran reports a BMW sedan crashed through the front of the Binny's at 153 Skokie Valley Rd. in Highland Park shortly before 10 a.m.
Highland Park Fire Chief Patrick Tanner said workers and customers inside helped pull a person out of the car, which caught fire, setting off the store's sprinkler system.
Tanner said it appeared liquor inside the store might have helped fuel the fire, after the car crashed through a stack of vodka.
Marty Anderson was the driver of the vehicle. In nearly 70 years of driving, she has kept a squeaky clean record.
"I've never had a speeding ticket," said Anderson.
That is until today. A stuck gas pedal is what she thinks caused her to plow straight in. A store worker who pulled Marty out saving her life.
It's what might have been that scares her the most.
"I wanna cry but I'm finding it a little bit hard because all I can think about is no one was hurt," said Anderson.
Brenda Houston was driving behind the car that went into Binny's
"A small white BMW in front of me swerved quickly to pass the car in front of her and couldn't make the curve, couldn't make the turn, and crashed into the store," said Houston.
David O'Sullivan was working in the store.
"The customer hit the glass, the fire was immediate, we called 911 and a number of our staff went to help," said O'Sullivan.
One of the store employees suffered from smoke inhalation while helping pull the person out of the car, Tanner said.
The driver and the worker were both taken to the hospital, but Tanner said it didn't appear either of them suffered life-threatening injuries.
Tanner said sprinklers in the store kept the fire under control until firefighters arrived to put it out.
