Woman crashes into Skokie bedding store

April 19, 2012 (SKOKIE, Ill.) (WLS) -- An employee described being inside a north suburban bedding store when a car crashed into the showroom.

The Skokie store manager says if the crash had happened five minutes earlier, two of the customers could have been killed. They were trying a bed near the window. It has been boarded up -- they were trying out of bed near the window. It has been boarded up and the cleanup process is under way.

"We were over here. She got out three [window] frames in one shot. Luckily, nobody was hurt. There were some people trying out the product by the window. It is lucky that they were not there when this happened," said Chris Grier, Bedding Experts store manager.

The crash happened just after the store closed Wednesday night.

Employees said the woman, who has not been identified, tried to back out of the store after the crash. She refused medical treatment and walked away without any serious injuries. The damage is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.

Part of the business near Dempster and Skokie Boulevard has been boarded up, but there is a lot of cleanup to be done. Workers were busy cleaning up the glass, debris and ruined mattresses inside the Bedding Experts store. A woman behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry somehow lost control and plowed into the business.

"She thought she was turning left and the car accelerated, and she couldn't stop it and ended up in the middle of the store," said John Belcher, salesman.

Belcher was at his desk when the car came crashing inside. Pictures taken shortly after the crash showed the Toyota completely inside the store. Police say it traveled about 25 feet into the building before it stopped. Belcher said he thinks that if the mattresses weren't there to cushion the crash, it could have been worse.

"I think she would have went through the other wall if it wasn't for the Tempur-Pedic," he said.

The vehicle took out the plate-glass window in the front and rolled over a few of the beds, but there were no injuries.

The driver of the car was not seriously injured. At this point, it's unknown whether she'll be cited.

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local, jessica d'onofrio

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