Local pharmacist Judy Plunkett had been hoping to make the most of the final hours of her Easter Monday with a late afternoon swim at Town Beach when she received a call that a black Holden Cruze sedan had just crashed into her TerryWhite Chemmart store front.
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A 79-year-old woman travelling into the Gordon Street car park hit the accelerator of the sedan instead of the brake when moving to park in front of the Chemmart around 4.15pm on Monday, April 1.
The car went over the barriers in front of the car park and crashed into the glass panel doors of the pharmacy causing significant damage.
"I came straight up," Ms Plunkett said.
"I felt concerned because I wanted to make sure no one was injured and my staff were safe."
No one was injured including the elderly driver but a Chemmart employee had been at the cosmetic section of the pharmacy close to where the impact of the car was.
The police were already at the scene when Ms Plunkett arrived, and helped organise a tow truck for the car.
Officers are currently investigating what action will be taken regarding this incident.
This isn't the first accident to occur at the Gordon Street carpark.
A driver in his eighties crashed through the carpark barrier outside Five Star Fitness in May 2022.
Serving customers
The local pharmacy didn't let the broken door stop them from helping customers in need.
Ms Plunkett and her pharmacists were still collecting emergency prescriptions from arriving customers and relaying inside to give them their medication.
"We were able to look after people for emergencies until our normal closing time," Ms Plunkett said.
"Which is always our priority- that we can still function in dire circumstances."
But the local pharmacist faced a new problem that afternoon: finding a builder on a public holiday.
When it was clear at 10pm that no builders would be arriving, Ms Plunkett had to hire security to ensure the pharmacy would stay safe during the night.
"It was impossible to get a builder last night," Ms Plunkett said.
"So these builders come from Sydney [and] they got here at 4am [Tuesday, April 2]."
Repairs are currently underway but Ms Plunkett doesn't know how long the works will take.
"It's quite a large amount of damage and I think it will need a structural engineering assessment."
The pharmacy has been able to open at it's usual hours and it is now safe for customers to go inside the store.
"We've been able to look after all of our people and maintain our service as a pharmacy," Ms Plunkett said.
"We're functioning as business as usual.
"We don't blink- in any sort of adversity if we can be open, we're open."
Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
