Driver crashes into Powell Butte Store

A Prineville man who says his car’s brakes failed slammed into the Powell Butte Country Store Saturday afternoon, causing extensive damage to the store and minor injuries to one worker, authorities said.

Crook County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 2:20 p.m. to the report that a car had crashed into the building, said Undersheriff John Gautney.

An investigation found that David Milks, 21, of Prineville was at the wheel of a 1997 Mercury Sable as he drove into the store’s west parking lot, Gautney said.

The driver told deputies he braked to stop, but the brakes failed and he was unable to avoid hitting the store. The car’s owner said they had just had repair work done on the brakes, Gautney said.

An employee inside the store was struck by equipment due to the impact, the undersheriff said. The worker received minor injuries and was taken by private vehicle for medical treatment, he said.

The crash caused “significant damage” to the store’s exterior and interior, Gautney said.

There were no other injuries, he said, and no citations were issued.