A woman crashed her SUV straight into the glass door of the IBC Express Centre yesterday morning, pinning an employee behind the counter.

According to Police at the scene, the 25-year-old employee was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) suffering from abdominal pain and injury to his arm. The driver, a 35-year-old woman, was not reportedly hurt, though she was shaken up.

Anthony Easton, an IBC customer little more than a foot away from where the car hit, told The Royal Gazette: "I was almost killed. It just missed me."

Mr. Easton, who arrived at the building on Park Road, in Hamilton, shortly before 10 a.m., and about three minutes before the car ploughed into the glass door, was picking up a package for work.

He said: "I had no time to respond to what was going through my head. The car was just there. There was no time to move, to run.

"The first thing I said [after] was 'what happened?' and immediately I was worried about the young man behind the counter."

According to Mr. Easton's account, he tried to console the employee who was pinned up against the wall and make sure he wasn't hurt. He was also concerned about the driver and two other passengers in the navy Honda CR-V.

Rick Craft, CEO of IBC, said he heard a loud crash and went downstairs to investigate.

He explained: "The way I understand it a customer came in and did some business with us and [then] tried backing out away from the door. Then from what I've heard, it slipped out of gear from reverse and into forward, and that's when it came through the doorway."

Mr. Craft anticipates damage to the building, including severe damage to the front door, back wall, front desk area, furniture and computer equipment, will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Yesterday, he expected to open up a temporary customer service area and said once the damage was properly assessed they could secure the area with plywood and get the doors replaced.

Some IBC staff were shaken up and needed brief consulting with a Police welfare officer.

Police yesterday issued a statement, saying that an investigation into the incident is underway.

"Around 10 [Friday] morning Police attended a reported collision resulting in injury that occurred on Park Road in Pembroke," a spokesperson said.

"Details are unclear at this time; however, it appears that a 35-year-old woman was driving an SUV on Park Road when she lost control of her vehicle and ended up going through the glass door at IBC."

He continued: "As a result, a 25-year-old male employee of IBC was taken to KEMH with lacerations to his abdomen and pain in his arm. The 35-year-old woman was also taken to the hospital for shock. An investigation into the collision is underway."