For the second time this month, a driver crashed into a Bartlett business on Friday. Wiemer’s Jewelry was a sitting duck when a driver hit the gas instead of the brakes.
David Wiemer, owner of the jewelry store at 7525 U.S. 64 in Bartlett, said it was at 9:15 a.m. and he was enjoying a typical morning as he worked and chatted with buddies in the front of the store. Then a car smashed through the front wall, window and glass display cases, sending people, debris and glass flying.
“It looked like he came through doing 100 mph, but I think it was about 20 mph,” Wiemer said.
People at the nearby American Family Dentistry office rushed to their aid while Wiemer was yelling to find out who was hurt. Injuries were far less serious than he feared.
One friend, Gary Kreis, was sitting up front and took the brunt of the impact. It threw him about 15 feet across the room in a shower of glass, but he only suffered a hairline fracture in one ankle. Another friend, Stan, received 15 stitches after the car scooped him up onto the vehicle’s hood and carried him through the flying shards of glass and other debris.
Wiemer was fortunate that he was able to jump aside in time and avoid being hit too.
He said they called 911, and the site was soon swimming with help from first responders, two ambulances and a fire truck at the shattered store. Once people were taken care of, he ensured that the storefront was securely boarded up.
He and his family recovered over the weekend and then got back to business.
By Monday, Wiemar had new glass installed and had filled the closest dumpster with the shattered display cases.
He was philosophical about the damage to property. Accidents happen. But he was very glad his young granddaughter, who normally stays with family at the store and toddles around in the area hit the hardest by the crash, was at a Mother’s Day Out program that morning instead.
In a similar incident on Aug. 17, an employee of Baskin Robbins at 5788 Stage Road in Bartlett also accidentally drove through the front wall. There were no injuries, and the business remained open for business.
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journalinc.com.
