Car Drives Through Buffalo Grove Office Building

No one was injured Friday when a car drove through the front doors of Buffalo Grove’s Lakeside Food Sales just after 11 a.m.

A 2010 Hyundai Sonata plowed down the wood-and-glass entrance of the building at 325 W. Dundee Road, after jumping a cement parking barrier and crossing the sidewalk.

“The driver told the officer she was turning into a parking space with her foot on the brake when the car accelerated,” Cmdr. Jim Newton said.

“Nobody saw it, but we all heard it. I thought filing cabinets were falling or something,” office manager Amanda Cashmore said. “We all came running to the front of the building. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, call 911!’”

Employees at Lakeside Food Sales, which provides ingredients to food manufacturers, were buzzing about the excitement Friday afternoon. They said they were thankful no one was injured.

Through the car was towed, the driver and her passenger walked away, Newton said. 

“We’re just thankful no one had gone out to lunch or to get the mail,” Cashmore said. “We use that door all day.”

The car filled the entranceway, stopping just short of the second set of doors that lead into the office.

Especially grateful to escape injury was administrative assistant Meagan Gallimore, whose desk is just a few feet beside the double doors. She had just stepped away from her desk when the car drove in, she said.

Newton said no charges were filed because the accident occurred on private property and the driver was not impaired. It was, he said, simply an accident.

Less than an hour after the crash, a representative from Brian Properties was on the scene to assess the damage and begin repairs. The company manages the professional office complex which also houses a dental office, chiropractic office and a physical therapy center.

“She said she was on her brake,” property manager Bill Dooley said of the crash, shortly after shattered glass had been swept aside. “I think she was on the wrong pedal.” 

A crew arrived soon after to board up the front of the building. Dooley said the front doors, which must be custom made, will be replaced in the next couple of weeks. He estimated that repairs will cost around $5,000.

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