Truck plows into two stores in Arbor Square Plaza on Carpenter Road
The truck smashed into the front of the UPS Store and came to a halt after hitting the wall separating the store from Jafferson Computers
Photo courtesy Nabeela Jaffer
A man in his 50s drove a 1989 Dodge Ram into the storefront, his vehicle coming to rest in the store next door, Jafferson Computers. He told police the brakes malfunctioned and he lost control.
A passenger in the vehicle was treated for minor injuries, according to a report from the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety. The crash caused over $75,000 in damage to the store, police said.
“It was like something you see in a movie,” said Gordy Schick, deputy police director for Pittsfield Township. “The driver was on southbound Carpenter Road and when he tried to make a turn, he went over the berm that surrounds the shopping center, hit some bushes and then went into the store.”
The driver was cited for careless driving but no charges have been filed. Police are still investigating the crash.
Nabeela Jaffer, who owns Jafferson Computers, said Sunday that she received a call from her security company alerting her that motion sensors had set off her store's alarm system.
“The UPS storefront is all glass,” Jaffer said. “The truck crashed through their store and into our interior wall.”
The UPS store does not open until 9 on Saturday, and there was no one in the store at the time of the crash. The store was closed Sunday, under its usual business hours.
“It sounds like they were very fortunate,” Schick said. “It could have been a lot worse, we’re thankful no one was seriously injured.”
Update 10:30 am Monday: UPS Store owner John Thomas has clarified that despite damage, his store will remain open during its regular business hours.
Ben Freed is a summer intern at AnnArbor.com. You can reach him by email at benfreed@annarbor.com or by phone at (734)-623-4674. Follow him on Twitter @BFreedInA2.
Comments
Grand Marquis de Sade
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 5:16 p.m.
I'm just trying to figure out how my reply to somebody's comment violated the conversation guidelines... I merely posited that an incident involving a single 12 year old truck that MAY (we're not sure according to the article) have had a mechanical problem should not be an indictment of the Dodge brand. Was it my suggestion that perhaps the truck was improperly maintained? It's true that I have no basis for saying that other than the general appearance of the truck. Perhaps the annarbor.com censor could explain so I don't violate the rules again?
JaffersonComputers
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 3:08 p.m.
We are thankful to God that no one was hurt. None of our staff or customers were in the store. This accident happened around 8:30am and our business hours starts at 10 in the morning. Our normal business for the day was distrupted but we are back in business, with the help of our technicians expertise our computer repair service catched up with our normal turnaround time. When you come to our store you will see some of the merchandise stacked up due to broken wall and shelves, but we are here to help you find what you are looking for so if you dont find something on the shelf just ask us. Thanks to all our loyal customers who trust us for their computer repairs, web designing and software development.
Bob Wilkinson
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 2:47 p.m.
As long as we're checking facts, isn't this the southEAST side of AA?
Ben Freed
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:39 p.m.
As Paula pointed out, we rely on the police and their reports to write these stories. I will double check with PTPD today on some of the factual inconsistencies that you all have pointed out. I also sincerely apologize to Jafferson Computers (and all of their loyal customers who stuck up for them) for misspelling the name of the store, it was an error on my part and has been corrected. Additionally, for those puzzled by the direct the truck hit the store (i.e. inconsistent with southbound heading of the car), the officer I spoke with mentioned that the truck did swerve in the parking lot before hitting the stores. It's unclear how much turning he did as I was unable to contact any other eye-witnesses on a Sunday. Thanks for reading and commenting, I especially appreciate constructive criticism and new leads to help improve the story if you have them, you can also feel free to email me or call me any time with further questions or comments. Ben
ypsiarbormom
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 12:57 p.m.
What is really most remarkable is that no bystanders were hurt or worse.
Paula Gardner
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 11:57 a.m.
The name of the computer store was just corrected in the story and caption. Thank you for pointing it out. As far as the debate on the year of the truck, we can check with police this morning. We rely on them to give us that info.
Craig Lounsbury
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : noon
The second sentence in bold print still says Jefferson as does the headline of the video link
DDOT1962
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 11:57 a.m.
"The crash caused over $75,000 in damage to the store, police said." When did the Pittsfield Police Department become experts at construction/repair costs?
rs
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 11:04 a.m.
There are so many errors in this article, its hard to tell what is correct and what is a misprint. The year on the truck is clearly wrong based on the body style, the name of the computer store is wrong, does that mean the Southbound part is wrong? The only way to hit that building at that angle would be if he was on northbound Carpenter.
Dave
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 2:32 a.m.
A lot of facts are wrong about this story...
Ben
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 2 a.m.
That Ram is clearly not a 1989 model. It's at least a 1993 if not newer. Whoever established the particulars of this incident?
Jimmy McNulty
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 10:57 a.m.
That's the first thing I noticed too. It's probably a 1999 model.
LiberalNIMBY
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:28 a.m.
Well, that's one approach to getting rid of the ugly strip malls around town.
Terry Star21
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.
He was going south bound on Carpenter, at the light he was turning left onto Ellsworth, missed the full turn, went over the berm across the parking lot into the storefront. By the distance he travelled he had to be going too fast, did not put his foot on the brakes - or both.
jrigglem
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:16 a.m.
I had that visual in my mind, but the direction his car is pointing appears to be wrong. The UPS store is on the eastside of that complex if I am remembering correctly. He would have had to do a complete 180. I could be wrong and the picture could be transposed but it doesn't seem like it.
Paul Taylor
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 11:44 p.m.
If he went over the grass, would there not be tire tracks in said grass? I just got back from the shopping center, and the only tire tracks I found are directly in front of the UPS store. I found no obvious damage to any shrubbery. No tire tracks in grass. No displaced dirt. I inquired further and was told, by a worker in the complex, that empty beer cans were found in the vehicle. There is more to this story. I can haz paycheck nao?
The Black Stallion3
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
I do not think I will be buying a Dodge anytime soon.
DDOT1962
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 11:58 a.m.
@ EyeHeartA2 THAT was funny!
EyeHeartA2
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:47 a.m.
Because they come with empty beer cans?
Common Sense
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 10:56 p.m.
The story seems puzzling if the driver was southbound, how did he get into a good sized parking lot on the east side of Carpenter Road???????????? The facts of this driver's "journey" needs more explanation. Also the store is named Jafferson Computers...need to look more carefully at the sign above the door. An honest mistake! They do excellent work and I take all of computers there for repairs
JaffersonComputers
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 3:11 p.m.
Thanks for your comments. We appreciate your business.
Joseph Lewis
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 10:50 p.m.
It's called Jafferson Computers.
Craig Lounsbury
Mon, Jul 18, 2011 : 1:13 a.m.
at least they consistently got it wrong all 4 times if my count is right.
jrigglem
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 10:42 p.m.
It's that parking lot a bit larger than jumping a grass berm? And Southbound on Carpenter? He would have had to cross 3 lanes of traffic. This story makes no sense.
81COM
Sun, Jul 17, 2011 : 10:27 p.m.
He was going SB on Carpenter jumped the grass berm and hit that store at that angle? Wonder if PTPD bought that story?