ROBYN EVANS avoided serious
injury by 30 seconds yesterday.
The Alstonville Cellars licensee had just walked into the
cool room when a car smashed into her shopfront about 11am
right where she had just been standing.
If she hadnt moved half a minute earlier, Robyn would have
been crushed by plate glass, steel bars and a shop counter.
Its the third time its happened in two years. The last
time was in May this year; a year earlier it was a night-time
ram-raid.
Ive had better days, but Im all right, said the resilient
businesswoman.
The cool room door was still open when I heard an enormous
crash and bang.
A mere half an hour after the incident Robyn was serving
a steady stream of customers, dodging tumbled cigarettes
and sifting through alcohol-soaked stock to find a packet
of gum for a regular. She gave away the gum as damaged goods.
Its a bit early for a Bundy isnt it? she joked.
We want bollards here, Ive asked the owners and theyve
ignored us.
Now Im going to get a petition. Enough is enough.
Robyn should have some success with the petition. After
all, this type of incident seems to be a common occurrence
at the Alstonville Plaza.
Two shops down, the Alstonville Florist had virtually
an identical incident a few years ago. A driver depressed
the accelerator instead of the brake, mounting the kerb
and destroying the window, along with thousands of dollars
worth of stock.
Wal Murray & Co First National Real Estates front
window was also shattered by an errant car about a year
and a half ago.
Robyn estimates it will cost more than $3000 to replace
the window, personally costing her $800 in insurance
excess charges. She lost about $800 worth of cigars and
is not sure how much it will cost to replace the shop
counter. Fortunately, most of the stock which fell from
the shelves seemed to have remained intact.
Yesterday the 65-year-old female driver from Goonellabah
was taken to Lismore Base Hospital by ambulance.
She had neck pain and was in some distress, but suffered
only minor injuries.
Police believe she may have hit the accelerator instead
of the brake, but had not yet taken a full statement. |
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