A car drove into the front of the Virgin Valley Community Thrift Store earlier today, luckily with no major injuries. (All photos taken by YoshiYama and Courtesy of Clark County Fire and Rescue)

Mesquite, NV-

A silver Hyundai Tucson drove through the Virgin Valley Community Thrift Store a little earlier than 11:40 am today, July 18, 2022. The location is on the backside of the Mesquite Plaza (AKA Bulldog Plaza) at 115 S 1st Street.

“The vehicle was driven by an elderly man who was parked in front of the store and accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake,” said Mesquite Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Shawn Tobler. “Luckily only one person was transported to the hospital with minor lacerations and no other injuries.”

In fact, the one person injured was the wife of the driver of the involved vehicle. She was getting into the vehicle and that was why the driver accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes. The vehicle entered through the glass doors knocking the framed doors out without breaking them and slid in between the checkout counter and nearby shelves, missing any shoppers and staff. A glass shelf broke and the car had very minimal damage.

“Thank God no one was seriously hurt, very minimal damage, hardly any damage to the car, no volunteers hurt, and we will luckily have very little financial responsibility due to this accident,” said Virgin Valley Community Food Bank and Thrift Store Director Leslee Montgomery.

Anytime Towing was called by the Mesquite Police Department and they towed the vehicle out and away to the vehicle owner’s home as there was no visual damage to the vehicle and it was still operational. The driver of the vehicle was checked by EMS personnel and released to be taken home by the tow truck company.

“We will be open again most likely tomorrow,” said Montgomery. “We will have the opening boarded up and have everyone go through the side doors. Again God was watching over us! Little damage and no one seriously injured.”

George Gault of Mesquite Works! which owns the plaza was present to check over the damage, Jackson Construction LLC was already working on getting the repairs arranged and the damaged opening boarded up, while Overton Power checked all of the power hookups. The volunteers already had almost all of the glass and store cleaned up. All of the cleanups were done within an hour after the accident.

The Virgin Valley Community Food Bank and Thrift Store are run by the Virgin Valley Family Services. All sales from the thrift store help fund the community food bank.

“This is a big benefit to the community and we have good support from the community,” said Montgomery. “We are happy to be able to only be closed for today and be back serving the community again soon.”

For more information about the Virgin Valley Community Food Bank and Thrift Store, you can visit them at their store location during business hours or call (702) 346-0900. They are open 9 am – 1 pm Mondays through Saturdays. If you would like to donate to their cause, please mail donations to:

Virgin Valley Family Services

PO Box 1436

Mesquite, NV 89027

PHOTO GALLERY BELOW:

(All photos are copyrighted by Virgin River Times and YoshiYama Photography and courtesy of Mesquite Fire and Rescue. All Rights Reserved)