An elderly driver has been cited after an SUV crashed through the front of a grocery store in Wauconda Saturday morning, causing an employee to be struck by debris, authorities said.
The Wauconda Fire District and Wauconda Police Department responded around 8:30 a.m. Saturday to 3 Amigas, 450 West Liberty Street, for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Wauconda Fire District Battalion Chief John Spratt said fire crews arrived and found a car into the building of the grocery store.
A woman in her 70s was operating the SUV when she presumably got the gas and brake pedals mixed up, Spratt said.
Wauconda Police Department Public Information Officer Heather Cognac confirmed the 74-year-old driver accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the crash.
The woman, who was the sole occupant of the car, was attempting to park her car in a parking spot to go into the store and grocery shop.
Spratt said the vehicle jumped the curb and struck the double sliding doors to the front entrance, shattering the glass.
The vehicle also damaged the back wall of the breezeway inside the glass doors.
An employee, a woman in her 40s, was working at the cash register at the time of the crash and was struck by debris from the crash, which pushed the wall to where she was standing, Spratt said.
She was shaken up but did not require transport to the hospital.
The driver of the car was also evaluated by paramedics but did not require transport to the hospital.
Spratt said the damage appeared to be mostly cosmetic and no structural damage was evident. The front entrance is currently out of service and a board-up company responded to shore it up.
The grocery store remained open but customers will need to use an alternative entrance, Spratt said.
The Wauconda Building Department was notified regarding the incident.
No impairment was suspected and she was cited for driving without insurance, Cognac said.