6 injured when car crashes into back of Salvation Army store

1 taken to hospital as trauma alert

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Six people were injured Wednesday afternoon when a car crashed into the back of a Salvation Army store in Pompano Beach.

The incident occurred at 451 E. Copans Road.

Sky 10 was above the scene just after 2 p.m. as the car remained lodged in the building.

According to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue officials, five of the six people injured were taken to a local hospital, one of whom was upgraded as a trauma alert due to a head injury they sustained.

The driver was among those injured and hospitalized.

Authorities said the older-model vehicle struck the dressing room of the store, moving it several feet.

A look inside a Salvation Army store in Pompano Beach after a car crashed through it. (Jeff Mead)

“I was beside the door, walked away and a big bomb went off, and I turn around and there is a car that went right through the building in back and it was the fitting rooms,” said Seal Masson, the regional manager for the Salvation Army.

“I was bending over to get some shoes and ,bam, I heard a crash,” customer Jeff Mead said. “I got up and heard a lady say, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God.’ I thought her back was broke. I took her to the couch and laid her down.”

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the driver was cooperative with deputies.

It’s unclear whether he will be cited or charged.

Masson said a motorcycle also struck the building last year on New Year’s Day.


About the Authors

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Christina returned to Local 10 in 2019 as a reporter after covering Hurricane Dorian for the station. She is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist and previously earned an Emmy Award while at WPLG for her investigative consumer protection segment "Call Christina."