Store owner, manager injured after car plows into store in Excelsior, Minn.

EXCELSIOR, Minn. (KMSP) - Two women are injured after a car plowed into a storefront Saturday morning on Water Street in Excelsior, Minnesota.

Police and fire responded to the scene at 320 Water Street around 10 a.m. on a report of a car crashing into a store. It appears the crash was unintentional, and the driver is cooperating with police.

The driver was not injured in the crash.

People stopped by the Provisions store all day Saturday to see it if is open, but it is temporarily closed, with the front door boarded up after the accident. The timing couldn't be worse for the owners on small business Saturday - always a popular time for businesses in Excelsior.

Neighbor and owner of Something Safari, Pei-Lin Yap, said she was helping a customer when she heard the crash.

“We all heard this sound, and we were looking at each other and then when we look up, that's the car. It's very surreal, right outside the door,” she said.

Police say the crash was likely unintentional, the driver apparently intending to park outside the store.

Store owner Wendy Baker and Manager Nancy Slyce were left with traumatic injuries.

Crews spent hours cleaning up the store and boarding it up. The owner of Excelsior Mill is among those hoping the victims recover and the store reopens.

“It could’ve been a lot worse,” she said. “We're just thankful and grateful that it wasn't.” 

Pei-Lin Yap hopes to see her neighbor again soon, with the damage next to her shop a reminder of how quickly life can change.

“I just saw her and we were greeting each other, and she just looked so beautiful in her red dress and was so excited. And then you walk in, and suddenly this happens,” she said. 

While provisions is temporarily closed, people are asking customers to visit Capers, a sister store not too far from it. The building's owner tells us she intends to install some safety bumpers around the building to keep this from happening again.