Car Crashes Through Yorkville Shell Station

A stuck accelerator is apparently to blame for an automobile plunging through the front doors of the Shell station on the corner of routes 47 and 34 around lunchtime Monday, Yorkville police said.

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"The driver of the vehicle was an elderly gentleman, and he said his accelerator got stuck," Deputy Chief of Police Larry Hilt said Monday afternoon.

The 76-year-old driver was not injured, nor was anyone inside the store, Hilt said. How many people were inside at the time of the incident is unclear.

John Gedraitis was one of the one's inside the Shell store when the car came through the front window.

"It was surreal. I really couldn't believe it was happening," Gedraitis said in an email.

Hilt said the store surveillance video shows the driver slowly pulling into an empty parking space in front of the doors, then jumping forward shattering the front doors and plunging inside the building.

Hilt said display racks and an automated teller machine were damaged when the vehicle came through the front doors. The vehicle stopped when it struck the front counters, Hilt said.

"I don't know how much was lost, but I'm sure there was a lot of money in damages," Hilt said.

No criminal charges have been filed against the driver, who has not yet been identified by police.

With the claim of a stuck accelerator officers towed the vehicle from the scene. How much damage the vehicle sustained during the crash is uncertain.

Police will remain on the scene of the accident until the building is secured.

No information is available as to how long the station will be closed. None of the pumps were damaged in the accident.

Patch will update this story as more information comes available.

If anyone has photos of the incident please add them to this story.