A WOMAN had to jump out of the path of a taxi as it ploughed into a petrol station.
Chloe Egan feared for her life as a black Hackney cab crashed through the Spar shop at Kitchen’s Garage in Trafalgar Street, Burnley, at 11pm on Saturday.
The car had gone through a large glass window and stopped in the middle of the store, destroying stock.
Ms Egan said the shelving nearest to the window started toppling down towards her.
She said: “I jumped out of the way as the taxi came past my feet and into the shop.
“The taxi was inches from me.
“I was very scared because I did not know what was going on. It was frightening.”
The site was closed for several hours while the car was removed from the store.
Staff confirmed the Spar shop opened today but only to serve customers buying fuel.
The majority of the store was inaccessible due to the scale of the destruction.
No members of staff were injured in the incident.
A fire service spokesman said: "An elderly gentleman drove into the shop front.
"He did not suffer any physical injuries but was in a state of shock.
"He did not require cutting out of his car.
"The damage to the shop front is significant."
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Ms Egan, 26, said: “My friend came in and told me to get out of the shop and he went over to see what was going on.
“Fortunately, no one was injured, the driver was in shock.
“I was the only person at the till when it happened.
“The car went down the first aisle and almost hit the beer fridge.
“It came through really fast.
“My car was parked near where the car had gone through the window outside.
“If it was a metre to the left the taxi would have hit it.”
A police spokesman said: “No one has been arrested as this is not a criminal matter.
“It is believed the driver may have had a medical episode and the crash was an accident.”
A large amount of damage was caused to stock inside the store and staff were tasked with cleaning up the damage.
A wooden board has temporarily replaced a glass panel which was smashed during the incident.
One customer said: “I drove onto the forecourt of the petrol station and saw the big board and wondered what had happened.
“There was broken shelving fixtures and the staff had a big task of cleaning it all up. I felt sorry for them all.”
The Kay Group Ltd, which runs the petrol station and several others in East Lancashire, were contacted for a comment.
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