'I was in the queue at Boots when a car came flying at me'
Joan Crawley, 72, initially went to M&S to get a roast for her tea - but made a last minute decision to go into Boots
by Abigail Nicholson · Liverpool Echo'I was in the queue at Boots when a car came flying at me'
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A woman says she was just "inches" away from being hit by a car that smashed through the front door of Boots as she queued to pay.
Joan Crawley, 72, from the L6 area of Liverpool, came to Edge Lane Retail Park on Tuesday, December 7, to get a roast for her and her husband for tea. After leaving M&S she made the quick decision to go and have a look inside Boots before heading back home.
After shopping for a little while, Joan joined the back of the queue to pay for her items when she heard what she described as an "almighty bang" just after 2pm. As she turned around she saw a black Volkswagen Tiguan heading towards her.
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Joan said she "couldn't move" after going into shock as the car smashed into an aisle of Soap and Glory gift sets, which were spread all over the floor.
She told The ECHO: "I was inside Boots coming down towards the till, there was a big load of people waiting and I was at the back of that - which was just by the front door. Next thing is I heard an almighty crash when all the frame of the door, window and everything came down.
"This car came flying at me through the door and missed me by about four or five inches. It [the car] came at me and just slammed in.
"I couldn't move and it just went on with people coming over and trying to get us outside, but then shock took over and I was just no good."
A stranger, Sandra Lamey, 52, saw Joan and helped remove her from Boots using a trolley that had a seat on it. Joan was then looked over by the North West Ambulance Service before being picked up from the retail park by her husband due to her car being one of those smashed by the Tiguan.
Joan described Sandra as being a "hero".
Sandra said: "I was just going into Marks and Spencer to pick up a parcel. It was frightening because of the speed of the vehicle.
"It smashed into three other cars outside before going through the front of the shop. There were people screaming.
"Nobody was hurt and cars are replaceable, there could have been a lot of people there at the front of that Boots, it could have been a lot worse.
"I called the police and fire and got everybody out the shop, everybody was just in shock."
Merseyside Police has since confirmed no injuries were reported to them following the incident. They're now asking for witnesses and anybody with CCTV or dashcam footage to contact @MerPolCC online using log 465 of Thursday, December 7.
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