Car Crashes Into Gas Station in Hartford

A car crashed into a gas station on Weston Street in Hartford Friday and went part way into the building, just missing customers who were inside.

The car crashed happened at the Mobil gas station at 125 Weston St. just after 10 a.m. Friday.

The owner of the vehicle said he shut down his car, which has a manual transmission, and turned it off, but did not realize he left it in first gear. He then told his girlfriend to start the car and it lurched forward when she did, hitting the building.

“She started the car and it was in gear, so when she let off the clutch, the car just took off and smacked into the wall,” Shanki Knott, of Hartford, said. “I was trying to stop the car but I got out the way because the car wasn’t stopping.”

Firefighters said the car was going 5 to 10 miles per hour when it struck the gas station.

The estimated damage to the building is around $10,000.

Rajendra Patel, the owner of the Mobil Gas Station, was in the back office when he

The store’s owner was in the back office when the car hit the building, heard the crash and ran outside.

“I said ‘Oh my God. How could this happen?’” he said.

No one was hurt. There is a counter on the other side of the wall the car hit, but no one was there at the time.

“Thank God it didn’t hurt anybody,” Patel said.

The gas station is still open and police said they do not believe charges will be filed.

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