A car crashed into A Look Ahead sunglasses store on the Square just before midnight on Saturday night after the car was hit from behind and propelled into the storefront, causing extensive damage to both the vehicle and the shop.
(Photo by: Devna Bose)
Oxford Police Department Captain Hildon Sessums said a witness on the scene provided a description of the first vehicle that sent the second vehicle into the storefront.
“We are reviewing Square cameras and cameras from other businesses to see if we can identify the vehicle and who was driving and where they may have gone after the wreck,” Sessums said.
Stacy McCormick, the manager of A Look Ahead, said she plans to reopen the store as soon as repairs are complete.
“If it’s repaired on Wednesday, we will reopen Thursday, but for now, nobody can get into the store,” McCormick said. “Most of the damage was done to the front door. Anything damaged inside can be replaced, but it looks worse than it is.”
The car destroyed the front door, window and Chanel eyeglass display, and it struck a support beam and a parking meter. By Monday afternoon, the front of the store had been replaced by a single wooden board, but broken glass still littered the sidewalk. The support beam struck by the vehicle was repaired early Monday morning.
“The car was rear-ended and got pushed through A Look Ahead and the (parking meter), then the car that hit it just took off,” said James Ririe, a junior managerial finance major who witnessed the incident. “It was like the car just got stopped inside the building.”
Gracie Gowen, a current Ya Ya’s Frozen Yogurt employee, said the car barely missed Ya Ya’s.
(Photo by: Devna Bose)
“The crash shook the whole building, and our customers thought there had been a gunshot,” Gowen said.
A Look Ahead is also exploring any temporary fixes that will allow the store to reopen and resume regular business hours.
“If we have something we can get in and out of, we are going to be operating,” McCormick said. “I’m hoping someone can make a makeshift glass door for us.”
OPD is still searching for a vehicle with fresh and heavy front-end damage after hitting a white car and sending it into A Look Ahead’s storefront and driving away. If anyone has information regarding the incident, they can contact OPD at 662-232-2400.
