KAILUA-KONA – A vehicle slammed through the front of the Aloha Island Mart on Henry Street in Kailua-Kona on Monday afternoon, and it’s not the first time.
Police responded to a 5:03 p.m. call to find a 2005 Jeep Liberty inside the mini mart.
“I heard a big crashing sound and thought it was an earthquake,” said Aloha Island Mart employee Alina Jerilong, who was behind the register when the crash occurred. “Then there was a car in here, things flying everywhere and glass all over the ground.”
Jerilong and another employee, Laura Nakamura, who returned after her shift to get ice right after the collision, stated the store is usually very busy at that time of day, but when the car came through the plate glass window there were no customers.
The female driver of the car, her minor passenger and dog did not sustain injuries.
Jerilong said the woman appeared to be in shock and said that she hit the gas instead of the brake.
The driver was not arrested and the incident was classified as a traffic accident, according to police.
This event came just a couple of months after another vehicle smashed into the front door of the store. That door was just repaired last week.
“It’s just lucky nobody was in the store,” Jerilong said. “Somebody watching over us.”
Email Laura Ruminski at lruminski@westhawaiitoday.com.