Photo legend:
(1-3): Boarded Up After Crash
(4-6): Tire Tracks in Flower Bed
(7-9): Wall Showing Vehicle Impact; Seasons of the Heart Owner Sheri Masiakowski by the Flower Bed
(10-11): More Boards Being Placed for Safety (will cover area bounded by yellow caution tape)
Photos copyright Ron Faiola
Village Shops Re-Open After Crash
by Ron Faiola
A woman attempting to park an GMC Yukon drove into a wall next to the front entrance of Seasons of the Heart, 5632 Broad St. on August 15, at 4:22 pm. The driver, Patricia Casucci, and her two grandchildren were not injured in the crash. Casucci was not cited for the incident. Seasons of the Heart, The 5th Season and Ferch's were closed until today while repairs were made.
According to the police report, Casucci became distracted and pushed the gas instead of the brake pedal. The report notes that even after hitting the building Casucci "continued with foot on gas as there was dirt on tires and behind vehicle."
The crash affected the structure of the building and the vehicle was left in place while the roof and walls were stabilized, however, even with the reinforcements, the front wall could fail at any time.
Seasons of the Heart/The 5th Season owner Sheri Masiakowski, who was in the store's basement at the time of the crash, said that it was "lucky" the SUV ended up hitting the front brick wall, otherwise, she said, "it [the SUV] would have gone straight through to the bathroom because there was nothing to stop it."
Ironically, the crash was witnessed by building owner Roy Reiman, who was across the street getting his hair cut at Batley's Barber Shop. Roy was heard telling an associate - "I saw the crash and ran out to see what happened. Then I realized I had been standing there for a while with a barber apron on and half a hair cut!"
According to Masiakowski, Roy and his wife Bobbi were at the crash site for about 3 hours while they were waiting for the SUV to be removed and the front wall shored up. Roy Reiman later bought a pizza for the group of shop owners, construction workers and the driver of the SUV and her family.
Masiakowski added that there was minimal damage to the merchandise although as a precaution she will have to destroy all the cloth items because of the possibility of broken glass being embedded in the fibers.
Masiakowski has managed to keep her sense of humor about the crash, saying the headline for the news should be "McSeasons of the Heart Scraps Plans for Drive-Thru."