Prineville driver smashes car into dry cleaners

A 71-year-old Prineville woman who mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal crashed her car completely into a dry cleaners Monday afternoon, injuring a worker inside and causing more than $30,000 damage, police said.

Officers responded around 3:12 p.m. to the reported crash at Ford Cleaners, at 1555 NE Third Street, said Capt. Larry Seymour. They were told the driver of a 2005 VW Jetta had driven through the building.

Arriving officers learned the driver, Sandra Kirk, and her adult passenger were unhurt. However, a dry cleaners employee, Bryan Farrar, was hurt when debris struck him. He was taken to St. Charles Prineville to have non-life-threatening injuries checked out, Seymour said.

An investigation found Kirk had mistaken the gas for the brake when approaching the curb, then struck the 6- to -8-inch curb, causing her to lose control and crash into the storefront, the captain said.

“After a thorough investigation, it was determined that there was no criminal act involved in the crash,” Seymour wrote in a news release. “However, a request was made to DMV by the case officer for a request for re-test to evaluate Kirk’s driving ability.”

A rough estimate of damage to the shop was more than $30,000, along with more than $1,500 damage to the car, Seymour said.

Police stayed on scene until the store owner arrived and could start clean-up efforts.