Five Hurt When Car Speeds Into Store

No one was seriously injured when an out-of-control car crashed through the front doors and 70 feet into a downtown Boise furniture store, crushing merchandise and sending five people to hospitals.

Police say Elaine Hale, 66, mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake Friday afternoon as she left a parking garage across the street from Expressions Custom Furniture.

“All the way, she was accelerating,” Expressions owner Rolly Galloway said, shaking his head at the broken glass and destroyed furniture.

Hale’s car first hit a Jeep Cherokee driven by Brian Bohner, 22, then continued to accelerate through the wood-and-glass front doors of the furniture store. Bohner was treated and released from a local hospital.

Also hospitalized were Hale, two Expressions customers and Hale’s husband, Paul.