Car Crashes Through Front of Cee Bee: No Injuries Reported

Driver's side view of a BMW that crashed through Cee Bee Food Store.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
A scary moment turned out to be fairly lighthearted after a Chalybeate woman drove through the front of Cee Bee Food Store today around 1:30pm.

Sharon Jacobs, who was driving a gold BMW sedan, said she was pulling into a parking spot directly in front of the building when suddenly her brakes didn't work. Her car went over curb, side-swiped a pillar,  and crashed through the front window.

Passenger's side view of a BMW that crashed through Cee Bee Food Store.

Store employee Pat Gooding sweeps up debris at the scene.

When asked if she remembered exactly what caused the crash, "The Cokes were on sale, honey, I had to get inside," she said with a hefty laugh.

Store owner Jeff Rich said no employees or customers were close to the point of impact and he was able to first offer Mrs. Jacobs help.

"She got her necklace tangled up in a seat belt and she really didn't know what had just happened, but she started calming down pretty quick when she realized everything was ok," he said. 

Rich was helping other store employees clean up the broken glass, wood, and concrete blocks that were scattered about.

"This could've been so much worse, but no one was hurt and that's the main thing," said Rich. 

He said the front entrance will be framed up and boxed in as a temporary fix until all the windows can be properly replaced. He said the store will likely install steel dividers at the storefront to prevent this from happening again.

Store owner Jeff Rich helps clean up after a car crashed through the front of the store.

​Store employee Jason Hawkins said he was partially down an isle near on the right side of the store when he heard the crash.

"I thought a shelf had collapsed," he said. "I ran towards the front and then I saw it was car. I didn't know what to think."

The store is still open despite the mess. Even though a certain area is roped off, business was still active inside the store as employees took turns waiting on customers and cleaning up.

Emergency officials guessed that Mrs. Jacobs thought her foot was on the brakes when it was actually on the gas pedal; however, that was only a guess. All on scene were happy that no injuries were reported.

Mrs. Jacobs' son, Jeff Jacobs, a local business owner, was there with her. "Luckily, she's ok," he said with a grin. Mrs. Jacobs was laughing and joking with several friends in the parking lot. 

"Oh, I'm not sure what happened, I was scared to death," she said. "Oh, me..." she said laughing.

Jeff Rich said everything will be put back together as soon as possible but that business would go on as usual. 

"I've been wanting to put a drive-thru in, anyway," he said as several standing by laughed. "But seriously, no one was hurt and that's the key here. Everything is okay."

Assisting at the scene was the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, Brownsville Fire Department, and Edmonson EMS.