Car plows into Fort Walton Beach mayor’s gift shop

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The crash, which occurred about 11:27 a.m., sounded like “a bomb went off,” said Janey Rynearson, who has owned the gift shop with her husband, Fort Walton Beach Mayor Dick Rynearson, for more than 22 years.

TONY JUDNICH @Tonyjnwfdn

FORT WALTON BEACH — No one was injured this morning after a woman accidentally drove her and her husband’s brand-new car through the front window of PS Gifts at 29 Walter Martin Road NE.

The crash, which occurred about 11:27 a.m., sounded like “a bomb went off,” said Janey Rynearson, who has owned the gift shop with her husband, Fort Walton Beach Mayor Dick Rynearson, for more than 22 years.

The driver, Elaine Stewart of Fort Walton Beach, was pulling her four-door Volvo sedan into a parking spot and apparently thought her foot was on the brake pedal instead of the gas pedal, city Police Chief Ed Ryan said.

The car plowed through a large pane-glass window next to the shop’s front doors before crashing into displays of glasses, Christmas ornaments and other gift items.

The Rynearsons said three women had been shopping in the area where the crash occurred just moments before the car barreled through.

“No one’s hurt,” Janey Rynearson said. “This is a miracle.”

She added that a structural support pole in the shop prevented the car from going farther into the store. The store was closed while cleanup tasks got underway.

Stewart is about 70 years old and was cited for careless driving, city spokeswoman Jo Soria said.

Stewart’s husband, Ken, arrived on the scene shortly after the accident and said his wife was going to the shop to visit her very good friend, Janey.

“She’s confused,” Ken Stewart said of his wife. “She doesn’t know what she did.”

Dick Rynearson said he didn’t have an immediate estimate on the amount of damage to the shop. Janey Rynearson said she and her husband plan to retire next spring.

“We’re just so thankful,” she said about no one being injured in the accident. “There are many, many blessings in this whole” situation.

Ken Stewart said he and his wife had just bought the Volvo three weeks ago. While the vehicle was towed away from the scene, he indicated that the car had received minimal damage.

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