Woman crashes SUV into Fort Lauderdale store

Driver says her foot slipped, hit gas

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A woman said her foot slipped and hit the gas before she plowed into a store in Fort Lauderdale.

The crash was reported shortly after 10 a.m. Friday at the Artibonite supermarket at 1001 NW Ninth Ave.

The store sustained significant damage, but authorities said no one was injured.

"My feet slipped and pushed the gas. That's what happened," the driver, Caridad Dijuse said. "I'm OK. I thank God that nobody was sitting right there"

Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier said a woman who works at the business usually keeps her 4-month-old son, Yandiel, in a carrier with her behind the register. Luckily, she had left to buy produce for the store when the crash occurred.

"I think I would have been dead, (and) my baby would be in the hospital," the mother, Jackie Cilis, said.

The baby's father, Daris Soto, was behind the register when the crash occurred.

He said he was hit on the leg by some debris, but was otherwise OK.

Dijuse was cited for reckless driving.

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About the Author:

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