Five hurt when car plows into Starbucks in Bellingham, Wash.

In the aftermath, the inside of the Starbucks store was strewn with chunks of glass, upended furniture, spilled coffee and drops of blood. Customer Ingrid Martens says the crash sounded like an explosion. "It picked up a couple of people in their chairs and just threw them against the wall. Luckily, nobody was under the car … It was kind of miraculous." (Read the Bellingham Herald story || View photos of the crash scene)

Comments

[13yearcustomer]

Just heading off the cynics and haters. Note: I don't really believe the below, I'm just hoping it will diffuse the coming sarcasm.

Ahem..

"Jeez, HOWIE! What happened to getting back to COFFEE?! This company needs new blood like NOW!"

[Pat Nerr]

Hey... one of my old stores!

... glad nobody got hurt

[Skeptical of the Elderly]

@ 13Year - LOL! Yeah, probably taking the new blood efforts a bit too far.

I love the image of the car eating the table. It is probably a telling comment on the quality of the so-called scones.

Glad no one was badly injured. Am I the only one who keeps track of "car lurches through shop front" statistics? Note that the driver was 70...as are 90+% of other drivers who accidently fling themselves through walls (or crowds).

I'm shooting for a massive heart attack at 45 or so. Now, where did I leave my quad-esspreso.

[ex-sbuxmanager]

I hope those baristas made the victims fill out incident report forms before they allowed them to get medical attention. Otherwise, risk management will have a fit.

Seriously though - its a miracle that no one was seriously injured.

[Lor]

i guess that person thought it was a drive-thru starbucks.

lol.

i had to say it.

~lor ♥

[SmalltownSM]

First of all, I'm glad no one was seriously hurt.
Secondly, how the hell does a car "lurch forward" and it finds it way completly in the store. I'd give you that excuse if you jumped the curb and hit the front of the store, but the car is completly in the store and practically hit the back wall. Wow, atleast no one was hurt.

[Melody]

Hey Pat Nerr, I've heard you say "one of my old stores!" many times. You have a lot of old stores in you history!

The article said that the driver was 70. I think that just about says it all. He's demonstrating that maybe he can no longer safely drive at that age, imho.

[Barista Joe]

Ouch. Looks like somebody wanted their mocha pretty bad.

[126partner]

Hahahaha. This would be the highlight of my Starbuckian week.

[coffee_master]

:'(

im glad no one got really hurt.....

[smalrus]

Didn't something like that happen on an episode of Numb3rs this season?

[S]

Brakes! Not Gas!

the name of the guy driving the car is "Worstman"...

[Ken]

smalrus
I don't know, but there is an old episode of CSI where that happens if I recall! (It was a deli, not a starbucks too)
Pretty hip car for a 70+ year old guy. I guess its a good thing he wasn't in a Town Car or Crowne Vic, would have taken out the entire plaza!

[MusicGal]

Wow, talk about traumatic. Wonder what the partners at the store will do while the building is fixed up... Anyway, thankfully no one was hurt.

[Snarky]

I hope everyone got recovery coupons...

[maggiemunkee]

same thing happened to my store last summer. a lady drove her truck into our wall. luckily it was a heavy brick wall and it just cracked, and no one was hurt. the driver of this car was a lady not even 40. sheesh.

regardless, i'm glad no one was seriously injured. ^_^

[Cubano on the Rocks]

This same thing actually happened at my store a few years ago. Plowed right into the condiment bar. No injuries, thankfully. We were closed for about a week while we got a new window, furniture, etc. And yes, it was an old lady driving.

Hmm.. ya know, there's a reason you can't get a license till you turn 16. For that very reason, maybe people should get their licenses taken away when they turn 65.

[Not Old!]

65 is old?! WHAT?!

Maybe licenses should require yearly testing starting at age 70...but 65? Nah. Too soon.

[Heather]

wow, i can't believe we made starbucksgossip. this was a crazy event. i'm a shift in bellingham and lucky for us no one was really really, and the two partners that were hurt are also just fine. but, one of my barista's was there with her two year old daughter when it happened and they are still really shaken up about it. but amazing we had the store up and running this morning! it's amazing how fast it was all fixed up.

[Anonymouse]

Doesn't look like he had much speed built up - only damage to the car itself is the table in the grill, the only damage to the building structure seems to be the windows - might be why the injuries weren't bad. Suggests he probably confused his gears and lurched, rather than a mechanical failure. Good thing all around that nobody was seriously injured and the store will simply just need a clean-up.

As to the age and driving - it's an individual thing. There are 80 year-olds who are truly still just as fit and able to see and react as folks in their 40's - and then there are 65-year olds who shouldn't be on the road. I think the answer is requiring medical clearance for licenses after 65 - not revoking them altogether with no consideration. Even young people can have sudden, freak medical problems behind the wheel. Age isn't a guarantee of anything.

[Dreadful]

What do you buffoons mean "thank god no one was hurt"? It says - right in the headline - that five were injured. You idiots need to learn how to read.

[almostanasm]

Heather- how did the press get pictures? Doesnt there have to be approval from Sbux media office for press to take pictures?

Other than that- may I say you have an awesome clean store, apart from the glass everywhere, and, oh yes, a crashed car in your cafe... but really, a nice clean store!

[WHAT]

To the NOT OLD poster:

which store do you work at I work in Bham too.
and yeah ur right we were open but not everything is fixed we still need the windows and the floor fixed but the wall is almost done!

[Barista Joe]

Dreadful- Respect people. I think they meant thank God no one was seriously injured. There's no need to call people names/act snooty.

[MusicGal]

Thanks, Barista Joe! The above comment was uncalled for, I agree.

[Pat Nerr]

Heather... Is Lyle still around up there?? Tell him "The Interceptor" says "Hi"

BHAM ROCKS!!!

[annie]

i frequent that store! i'm out of town, on the other side of the state, but it made the news over here. we were shocked!

and ps: it IS a drive-thru! ;)

[Heather]

Pat Nerr - yeah lyle is still in bellingham. he manages the sehome haggen starbucks. i'll make sure to tell him you said hi! almostanasm - as the for the pictures, i don't know how the bellingham herald was able to have the pictures up without starbucks consent. all i know is we as partners weren't allowed to give statements to the press.

[wwwwwwwww]

I was injured badly and one lady underwent surgery for internal bleeding, a man broke a leg. The parters who worked there were also injured seriouly- it was an qwful horrifying experience

[JBaller]

Lemonade is not seasonal. It's available year-round. Get over it.

[JBaller]

That happened here, but instead of a Starbucks, it was the area of a school where parents pick their kids up or they get on the buss. The old lady plowed through a large group of children, killing one and injuring others when her car "lurched forward" unexpectedly.