Car crashes into bookstore
What began as a normal day's work for Leon van der Nest in his second-hand bookshop at Dunkeld West Shopping Centre became anything but ordinary when a woman drove through the shopfront.
“I was sitting at my desk at the front of the shop when I heard a crash. I thought something happened to my neighbour’s roller door, but seconds later a BMW drove past me, within 10cm of my poor little body,” he said. “I realised later that the first crash I heard were two potplants outside the shop,” he added.
Van der Nest said the car ploughed through three-and-a-half bookshelves and sent his desk to the back of his shop, Books Aplenty.
“Books and glass were scattered around the shop, and the car was parked between the shelves,” he said.
“The woman wasn’t hurt, although she was traumatised by the incident. She obviously felt very bad about it. The worst injury I sustained was a 1cm scratch on my nose from a piece of glass.”
Van der Nest said he was amazed that he escaped with only the scratch, given that chunks of plaster were ripped out of the wall.
According to van der Nest, the woman said she misjudged her foot-placement, and hit the accelerator instead of the breaks.
The cost of the damage was still being calculated, but Van der Nest said he wasn’t too concerned about it, as the repairs would be covered by his insurance company.
“I think the biggest cost would be for the landlords, when they replace the shopfront. In the meantime, new bookshelves are being built, and my desk is back to where it was before it was moved by the car,” he said.
“The landlords have been fantastic. They’ve been so supportive, and arranged for 24-hour security outside the shop until the window and door have been replaced. Until then, I’ve put up a sign that reads ‘We’re open, but not trading’.”
Van der Nest kept his composure and good humour following the incident.
“I’ve never seen this before, and I hope I don’t see it again. It’s not really something one would put on one’s CV… Everyone who came to assist was very good natured about it. There was a lot of laughter – except from the poor woman. I certainly have no hard feelings about it at all,” he said.
The humour continued after Van der Nest posted photographs on his Facebook page.
“Friends from around the world started leaving comments like, ‘This was a total failure of a drive-through shop’ and ‘You broke it, you bought it.’ I found this the most amusing thing about the whole incident,” he said.
To spread the good humour, Van der Nest offered a R500 gift voucher to the reader who comes up with the best caption for the photograph. To enter, email your submission to rkg@caxton.co.za by 25 September.
