LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A gift shop on Bardstown Road was closed and boarded up with plywood Wednesday after an unexpected turn of events Tuesday night.
Brandy Siemens, owner of Vintage Style and Designs, said an empty, parked car across the street was hit by another vehicle Tuesday around rush hour, which sent the parked car across lanes of traffic and crashing into her storefront windows.
"Luckily, we had just had customers leave just moments prior to that," Siemens said.
Siemens said only one employee — her mother — was inside the store at the time the car came crashing in. She's thankful no one was hurt.Â
"There was nobody on the sidewalk, thank God, so no injuries," she said.Â
The owner of the car said she was in the store across the street, Doo Wop Shop, with her 6-year-old daughter. They were renting a violin for summer camp. She said she considers it a blessing that no one was hurt.Â
Siemens said a police report has been filed. Louisville Metro Police hasn't responded to a request for more information.
And this isn't the first time a car wound up crashing into a business along this stretch of road. In 2016, a car hit Za's Pizza. About one year ago, a car also came crashing to a nearby vape shop. Then, in February of this year, a clothing and shoe store called Free Hype Shop was damaged after a car ran into the building.Â
"I don't know the words," said Garrett Cissell, the owner of Free Hype Shop. "I just sat back and was like, 'Wow, we have to start cleaning this right now.'"
He said the crash happened in the middle of the night. When he got to his store, there was merchandise all over the floor along with shattered glass. Some of the exterior brick damage can still be seen outside the shop. Cissell said the damage forced the store to be closed until April.Â
"I had several employees, about four or five," he said. "All of them had to get other jobs. We lost two months of sales."
Free Hype Shop has now been reopened for more than one month and has two storefronts now: one with clothing and another with shoes.
Siemens is confident her store will be able to reopen within a few days, but this certainly isn't how she expected to kick off the summer season.Â
"It seems as soon as things finally start to get back to normal, we'll have to deal with something else," she said.
Related Stories:
- Bardstown Road beautification project set to begin later this week
- Bardstown Road pizza pub closes after car runs through front door
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