Eyewitnesses say one driver had a medical issue behind the wheel, crashing her car into another parked vehicle, and driving it into the front of the convenience store.
By Matt Skoufalos | June 5, 2023
Ford 4X4 after collision with Haddon Township Wawa. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
A two-vehicle collision in the parking lot of the Haddon Township Wawa sent one driver to the hospital and smashed a second vehicle into the convenience store lobby, damaging it.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. June 5 outside the Wawa in the unit block of Haddon Avenue in Haddon Township.
According to eyewitness reports, a woman behind the wheel of a red BMW X6 sustained an apparent medical episode inside her vehicle while it was still running.
At some point, they said, her foot allegedly hit the gas pedal, slamming the BMW into the rear of a parked black Ford 4X4 truck, which then collided into the storefront lobby, shattering windows and its front end.
The truck was unoccupied at the time; its driver said he was walking back to his vehicle shortly before the collision.
“I was coming up to it, and someone said, ‘It looks like the lady behind you is having a seizure,'” he said. “We all were just looking in. Someone came close to breaking the window.”
Haddon Township resident Megan Chase said she was pulling into the parking lot at the time of the crash, and narrowly avoided being caught in the collision.
“When it hit the building, the car kept pushing,” Chase said. “It was so loud, people came all the way around the block to see what happened.
“It’s one of those moments when you’re appreciating life,” she said.
Wawa employee Tiffany Hargrave said she was in the rear of the building when she “heard the whole store shake.”
Two-vehicle collision at Haddon Twp. Wawa. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
“I was just scared,” her coworker, Rose Simmons, said.
“We were all busy when it happened.
“All we heard was a big crash, and the store just shook,” Simmons said.
The BMW driver was transported to an area hospital by Westmont Fire Company EMTs.
Westmont Fire Chief Dan Devitt said her condition was not immediately known.
No other injuries were reported, and the business remained open throughout the incident and clean-up.
By virtue of property lines, the incident technically occurred in Collingswood: the Wawa building is located in Haddon Township, but the parking lot, where the collision was initiated, is in Collingswood.
Collingswood Police Chief Kevin Carey confirmed that the collision was attributed to a medical emergency.
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