Cedar Hill Dunkin' Donuts Open After 'Inadvertent' Motor Vehicle Crash

Sheer luck may have prevented a motor vehicle crash from injuring pedestrians and shoppers.

No one was hurt Sunday morning when a brick supporting column was sent flying through the front window of , 525 Cedar Hill Ave.

"Thank God no one was walking in or out of the store, or we could have had an incredibly tragic situation on our hands," police Chief Benjamin Fox said Monday.

Fox said a motorist, Wilma D. Kohere, 76, of North Haledon, was pulling into a parking space in front of the joint Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins outlet at 9:42 a.m. when she accelerated and hit a brick column directly in front of the store. The impact of the crash dislodged the post and sent it through the glass at the store, Fox said. The entire column was on the floor of the shop when police arrived.

The shop remains open Monday, and the front window has been replaced. Store staff on duty Monday did not witness the incident, and management was unavailable for comment. The only signs of the crash remaining at the store are cones around a makeshift supporting column.

However, the circumstances of the accident brought out the township Building Department to assess the structural integrity of the strip of stores at the shopping plaza.

Thomas Gensheimer, the township's construction code official, said Monday that the damage wasn't significant enough to shutter the business after township officials "made the building secure" with the column currently in place. Gensheimer and township Engineer Mark DiGennaro inspected the damage immediately following the crash to ensure the safety of shoppers and workers.

"Missing (one) column wasn't enough to impact the building," Fox said.

The ensuing investigation, led by Sgt. Daniel Kellogg and Patrolman Terrance Murphy, concluded that Kohere simply stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake. The chief said the North Haledon woman was not cited for the "inadvertent" crash.