SACO — Customers shopping for groceries Monday at a crowded supermarket in Saco got a bit of a shock when a car driven by an elderly Biddeford man smashed through a set of entryway doors.

Sgt. Christopher Hardiman said the accident occurred about 4:45 p.m. at the Shaw’s Supermarket in the Saco Valley Shopping Center on Scammon Street. Hardiman identified the driver as 77-year-old Philip Bender of Biddeford.

Additional Photos

A 2003 Ford Focus sits in the entrance of the Shaw’s Supermarket on Scammon Street. “We were very lucky today” because no one was hurt, said police Sgt. Christopher Hardiman. Courtesy photo

Bender’s 2003 Ford Focus went through a pair of glass doors before coming to rest against an interior retaining wall. The affected area is a small vestibule set apart from the customer checkout lines. Customers use the doorway to exit and enter Shaw’s.

“We were very lucky today,” Hardiman said, referring to the fact that no one, including Bender, was injured.

According to police, Bender had just finished shopping and had loaded his car with groceries when he started to pull out of a handicapped parking spot.

His car accelerated forward, striking a parked car. Hardiman said Bender then veered across the parking lot before making a sharp right turn.

“He went straight through the doors,” Hardiman said.

Bender was evaluated at the scene by an ambulance crew before a friend picked him up and drove him home. His car had to be extricated from the entryway by a tow truck.

Bender has not been charged, but the incident remains under investigation.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com

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