FENWICK ISLAND – A Fenwick Island store has reopened following a recent car crash.
During a recent town council meeting, Mayor Natalie Magdeburger took time to recognize local fire departments and town staff that responded to the scene of a car crash at the local Southern Exposure clothing store last month. She said she had spoken with the store’s owners, Tim and Gretchen Collins, and learned that those who were injured in the crash were expected to make a full recovery.
“Tim indicated that as of this week, he was back open,” she reported. “He was very thankful.”
On Oct. 6, a car crashed into the Southern Exposure clothing store in Fenwick Island, injuring an employee and a customer.
The operator of a blue Acura SUV, driven by a 64-year-old woman, crashed into the building just after 11 a.m., according to a news release from the Fenwick Island Police Department. The crash caused a 67-year-old woman inside the store to be pinned under the vehicle and another woman, 75, to be pushed back. The patient that was pinned was air lifted to Christiana Hospital by Delaware State Police helicopter. The other patient was transported by Ocean City ambulance to Atlantic General Hospital. The driver reported no injuries.
“For those who don’t know, there was a customer that drove through the brick front and through an inner wall and out the back brick,” Magdeburger said. “There was someone that was pinned, an employee of Tim and Gretchen Collins, and a customer that also had sort of been pushed back with all of the movement.”
The crash also caused structural damage to the Southern Exposure clothing store. Fenwick Island Police Officer Cameron Clift was the first to respond and immediately received assistance from South Bethany Police, Delaware State Police, Bethany Fire Company, Ocean City ambulance and the Delaware State Police helicopter services, to name a few.
“The town, particularly Mike [Locke] and Pat [Schuchman], immediately called Sussex County, and Mike was down there as soon as they had got the victims taken care of, to take a look at the building so that we could assess it and make sure that it remained open or it could open as quickly as possible pending some remediation,” Magdeburger said. “Mike was literally there that day, within an hour of the accident itself and within minutes after removing the victims. So Tim and Gretchen were very happy with the town’s response.”
Magdeburger also applauded the Bethany Beach Fire Company.
“They responded to that event, and they were amazing in terms of shoring up the building and making sure that it was safe to continue,” she said. “It was a through and through hit. So that was impressive that they were able to do that right there at the at the site.”
