SUV plows through mower repair shop

It all started with a crash on Gall Boulevard ...

By CARRIE RITCHIE
Published July 10, 2007

A two car collision ended with one of the cars inside L&G Hood's showroom and office. The SUV came to a stop after pinning Ruth Hood behind a desk though, she walked away with scratches.
	[Times photo: DAVID DEGNER]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: DAVID DEGNER] Gordon Hood, clears out debris behind a car that plowed through the front of L&G Hood in Zephyrhills that stopped after ramming a desk into an interior wall.

ZEPHYRHILLS – A car crash on Gall Boulevard ended inside a local lawn mower repair shop Monday morning, stunning employees and passers-by.

At 11 a.m., a Chevrolet Equinox traveling east on C Avenue collided with a Nissan Pathfinder traveling south on Gall Boulevard. The Equinox T-boned the passenger side of the Pathfinder. After the impact, the driver of the Pathfinder hit the gas instead of the brakes, witnesses said, and the sport utility vehicle crashed through the wall of L & G Hood Co., at 4724 Gall Boulevard.

"It appears that he hit the wrong pedal," said Gordon Hood, the shop's owner. "He made no effort to stop."

The Pathfinder crashed through a wall and shattered two windows, leaving splintered wood panels, glass shards and other debris strewn throughout half the shop.

Two people were injured and transported to St. Joseph's Hospital.

Erica Juarez, 32, was riding in the passenger seat of the Pathfinder and had to be airlifted. Firefighters had to cut off the passenger door to extract her from the SUV. A 2-year-old girl riding in the backseat behind her was taken by ambulance.

Rosaly Juarez, the 33-year-old driver of the Pathfinder, and Linda Hamilton, the 58-year-old driver of the Equinox, were both unharmed. Hamilton received a citation for failing to yield the right of way, and Rosaly Juarez was cited for driving with an expired license.

A 6-year-old girl riding in the backseat of the Pathfinder on the driver's side was also unharmed.

All passengers are from Zephyrhills.

The crash gave witnesses a terrible scare.

Ruth Hood, Gordon Hood's 83-year-old mother, was sitting behind her desk in the customer service area when the car crashed through the building's facade. It pinned her between the desk and the wall. Gordon Hood had to lift her from her desk chair.

"I don't know where the car came from," said Ruth Hood, whose husband opened the lawn mower business in 1949. "I was just sitting there and the car came out of nowhere."

Gordon Hood, who was inside the shop when it happened, said he was sure his mother was dead when he saw the car come through the wall. As a volunteer firefighter for the Zephyrhills Fire Department, he said he sees people pinned and killed often.

Fernando Gonzalez had just parked his car and was heading into the shop when he saw both cars coming toward him. He ran in one direction and then veered in another to keep out of their paths. The Equinox, which spun into the parking lot after the impact, stopped a couple yards from his car.

"It scared me to death," Gonzalez said.

Manny Neidlein, 74, was driving out of the parking lot and hit the gas just in time to avoid colliding with the two vehicles.

"In a minute or less, I would've been involved," he said.

Gordon Hood was active in the cleanup, but he watched solemnly as a tow truck pulled the mangled Pathfinder out of his shop. It took police and firefighters about an hour to remove the wall and clean up debris so the car could be towed.

He said the wreck came at a particularly bad time because summer is his busiest season. He doesn't know how much damage was done, but he said he thinks he might have to close down his shop till it's repaired.

Gordon Hood said the business isn't particularly profitable, but has suffered even more lately because of the dry weather.

Still, he said they have to count their blessings.

"Everybody's alive," he said.

Carrie Ritchie can be reached at critchie@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 10, 2007, 00:18:19]