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Smoke break spares 3 lives
By CARRIE JOHNSON © St. Petersburg Times, published June 20, 2001 INVERNESS -- After spending more than 40 minutes in a salon chair getting her hair colored Tuesday, Melinda Zewiey was antsy. So as the stylist squirted the last of the bleach on her strawberry-blond tresses, Zewiey asked if she could take a cigarette break. Chalk one up for big tobacco: It was a nicotine fit that would save Zewiey's life and the lives of the two hairdressers in Marilyn's Hair Salon. Zewiey, 33, of Inverness had just stepped out the back door and lighted a Marlboro when she heard a tremendous crash and felt a breeze on her legs as the door flew open. "I turned around to ask, "What's going on here?' and that's when I saw the car coming straight toward me," Zewiey said. The car, a Ford Crown Victoria, had crashed through the plate glass storefront window and destroyed the chair where Zewiey had been sitting just moments before. The vehicle came to rest inside the small store, leaving a trail of dented curling irons and broken hair dryers. The driver of the car, Gazelle Grimes, 83, of Inverness had been searching for a place to park so she could eat lunch at nearby Stumpknockers. As she attempted to maneuver into a slot, Grimes said she mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.
Inverness Police Officer Michael Tansey said Grimes would be cited for careless driving for the 11:41 a.m. crash. A damage estimate was not available Tuesday. Grimes watched calmly from behind clip-on sunglasses as Inverness police picked through the wreckage at the store on Tompkins Street next to Walt Connors Office Supply & Equipment. She said she hasn't been in an accident in years but said she now plans to relinquish her driver's license. "Who knows how much this is going to cost?" Grimes asked with a shrug. The close call left the women in the salon quaking and teary. Hair stylist Robin Long, who had been coloring Zewiey's hair, had followed her client outside during Zewiey's smoke break. She was walking back into the salon when she saw the car clear the curb. "I just started running toward the back of the store," Long said. "I said a quick prayer. We were really lucky." Stylist Vivian Henry had been chatting with Zewiey from the receptionist's desk, but got up to pick up some curlers at the rear of the store when Zewiey went outside. It's a good thing, too: The receptionist's desk was knocked more than 30 feet by the Crown Victoria. "You're not allowed to quit smoking," Henry said to Zewiey. "That cigarette saved our lives." Henry's eyes were still wide as she surveyed the damage. The owner of the shop for the last six years, Marilyn Smith, was returning from a trip to Atlanta and couldn't be reached for comment. But Henry said Smith had spent years remodeling, trying to make the salon look just right. She probably won't view the car as an improvement. "We almost had a drive-through salon today," Henry said.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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