KOLOA — The Koloa Post Office closed briefly on Thursday after an elderly man crashed his car through the front of the building. The accident occurred shortly after noon and left roughly 500 post office boxes damaged. Postmaster Daniele Morris
KOLOA — The Koloa Post Office closed briefly on Thursday after an elderly man crashed his car through the front of the building.
The accident occurred shortly after noon and left roughly 500 post office boxes damaged.
Postmaster Daniele Morris said she was filing mail at the front of the building when a white, four-door Jeep Laredo crashed through the bay window at the building’s east end, less than 20 feet from where she was standing.
“I’m still shaking,” Morris said at the scene. “All I heard was the impact. It was like slow motion.”
The driver, 90-year-old Clyde French, of Koloa, said he was attempting to park but was unable to stop the vehicle, which climbed over the curb and crashed through the glass wall. The vehicle’s front end suffered extensive damage, as did the interior and exterior of the building.
The driver was not injured and had no passengers at the time of the collision, according to a press release from the Kaua‘i Police Department. No other vehicles were involved.
“It was just an accident,” French’s son-in-law, Joe French, said. “It certainly could have been a lot worse.”
Jerry Swanson, of Lawa‘i, witnessed the accident while doing paperwork in his parked vehicle. He said the driver pulled up and, instead of braking, accelerated through the front window, becoming pinned against the mailboxes. The tires continued to screech until the car eventually died, according to Swanson.
“I think he hit the gas pedal instead of the brake,” he said. “It was lucky that no one else was in there checking their mailbox.”
Swanson said people swarmed around the vehicle while he proceeded to call police.
The post office reopened shortly after the accident once staff workers were able to clear debris from the area. By midday, most of the damaged post office boxes had been repaired, with the exception of boxes numbered 1501 through 1560. Those customers will need to retrieve their mail at the front office window until further notice.
An estimate of damages has not yet been released.
• Chris D’Angelo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 241) or lifestyle@thegardenisland.com.
