Lake Forest Store Finds That Its Front Window Lies on the Beaten Path

At 4 a.m. Wednesday, workers slapped down the last tile on the floor of the Nutrition Mart, repairing the damage done by a motorist who crashed into the store last month.

Manager Tom Anderson got to admire the handiwork for all of six hours when deja vu struck with a bang.

For the second time in about two months, a vehicle came through the store’s front window, sending glass, vitamins and nutrition supplements flying. Nobody was injured.

“Words can’t describe how strange this is,” Anderson said shortly after the 2 p.m. crash. “It doesn’t make sense.”

An Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the driver in the latest accident, Dorothy Rerdon Johnson, 72, was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Johnson apparently missed the brakes on her 1993 Honda Accord and instead hit the accelerator when heading into a parking spot in front of the store, officials said. Her car plunged through the window and stopped inside the entrance.

Dr. Art Womack said he saw it all from his dental office a short distance from the store, which is in a shopping plaza at El Toro and Trabuco roads.

“I looked up and thought, ‘Oh no, this is trouble,’ ” Womack said. “It was like slow motion. The car hit with a huge sound. It was gigantically loud.”

Womack said he ran to the vehicle and pulled the driver out.

It was all reminiscent of a Feb. 11 incident that was much worse, Anderson said.

Two pedestrians were knocked down and suffered scrapes and bruises when an out-of-control vehicle crashed into and drove nearly the length of the store, causing about $50,000 in damage, he said.

Evelyn Krueger, 83, told police the brakes on her 1992 Buick didn’t respond. However, officials said a traffic investigator found no sign of brake failure.

Among those shaking their heads in disbelief Wednesday was the glass repairman who fixed the damage from the earlier crash, and the store’s insurance carrier.

“I told the [landlord’s representative] that they should just Xerox the last accident report,” Womack said.

Anderson said he plans to board up the window and open for business tomorrow. And he was busy making plans for a new addition.

“This time,” he said, “believe me, we’re going to have metal posts in front of the store.”

“I’ve seen a lot of weird things, but this is definitely one of the stranger ones,” said Sgt. Ted Boyne, a traffic supervisor with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.