Three people were injured, one critically, when a car driven by an elderly man crashed through the storefront of a Rite Aid in Westbrook on Sunday afternoon.

Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts identified the driver as Philo Street, 84, of Gorham. Police and firefighters who responded to the crash said Street was pulling into a parking space at the Rite Aid, 455 Main St., around 12:20 p.m. when he stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Street’s Lexus ES 330 sedan crashed through the store’s wall and came to rest against the cashier booth. The crash injured an employee, Sharla Cummings of Westbrook, Roberts said. The 66-year-old clerk was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland and was listed in critical condition Sunday night.

Street and a passenger, his wife, Diana Street, 70, were both treated at the scene by medics from the Westbrook Fire Department. Their injuries were considered to be minor.

“The store employees were really shocked because the car came to rest against the cashier’s booth,” Deputy Fire Chief Gary Caron told WCSH-TV.

Caron said Street appears to have stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake.

The store closed a short while after the crash, but expects to reopen Monday, according to an employee who answered the phone Sunday night.

Roberts said Street has not been charged and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.


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