Bend woman hits gas instead of brake; SUV crashes into La Pine hardware store, causing damage, injuries

(Update: Deschutes County Sheriff's Office info)

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend woman hit the gas pedal instead of the brake Saturday, sending her SUV smashing into the Ace Hardware store in La Pine. Several customers and workers were injured, but none were life-threatening, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Monday.

Deputies and La Pine Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around noon Saturday to the store in the 51000 block of Huntington Road, Sergeant Jason Wall said.

An investigation determined the 66-year-old Bend woman had driven into the store’s parking lot and mistakenly pressed the gas pedal, as opposed to the brake pedal, causing her 2016 Jeep Cherokee to crash into the front of the building, Wall said.

About four people were injured, he said, but none were life-threatening. The driver was not hurt, Wall said.

There was some significant damage. But thanks to volunteers and a manager working all day Sunday to clean it up and make repairs, the store said it planned to reopen for business Monday morning.

It was the second significant vehicle-into-building crash in La Pine in less than three weeks. On June 7, a 52-year-old La Pine man was unhurt but was cited after he apparently fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car into the temporary home of the La Pine Library.