Two People Barely Avoid SUV That Plowed into LI Strip Mall

A scary situation on Long Island very nearly could have turned tragic for two people who narrowly avoided serious injury or worse when a car plowed into a strip mall.

An out-of-control SUV driven by an elderly man and his wife can be seen on surveillance video heading straight for an insurance business in West Islip just after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. At the same time, a man is seen leaving a pizza shop next door — not seeing the car come barreling at him until just the right moment, giving him barely enough time to move out of the way of the car by a matter of inches.

The man somehow dodges the blue SUV and does not appear to be injured, as he walks back to check what happened inside the store — which was almost an even closer call.

As the man evaded the oncoming car on the sidewalk, it continued on and went right through the front of the insurance business. A woman who sits at the front desk can be seen on another security camera not looking until the car smashes through the glass, then keeps on moving into the store and pushing her desk into her.

Almost inexplicably, the desk got wedged in a position that created a small triangle right where the woman was, preventing the car from coming any further or pushing the desk into her. She quickly got up and out of the way, which a coworker said was important because the car was still accelerating after the crash.

“To see that she was okay and wedged into a tiny corner with her desk, just a triangle of space for her, thank God there were a couple of filing cabinets in the way. Otherwise she could have been crushed. I fear what could have happened,” said Janelle Weber.

Police were investigating what may have caused the crash, as crews cleaned up the mess from a scene that could have been far worse.

The 86-year-old driver and his 82-year-old wife were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. It was unclear if the driver will face any charges.

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