UPDATE: Longboat crash causes thousands in damages

An 86-year-old man drove his SUV through the front of Harry’s Convenience Store Monday afternoon, sending groceries and glass flying and trapping the driver until emergency personnel arrived.

“My staff immediately called 911 and had him turn his car off,” said Harry’s co-owner Lynn Christensen, noting the incident occurred at roughly 1:30 p.m. “The door was caught between the building, and when the police got here, they backed the car up a little bit and got the gentleman out.”

Levine Ellsworth, a Michigan resident, allegedly pressed his gas pedal instead of  his brake causing his 2015 Subaru Outback to lurch through the storefront, according to a Longboat Key Police Department report filed Monday night. The accident did not cause any injuries to customers, staff or the driver, but Harry’s co-owner Harry Christensen estimated the crash caused as much as $100,000 in damages.

Although Longboat police found Ellsworth at fault, officers did not cite him for the accident.

Harry’s remains open as staff clean up the scene and Christensen begins filing an insurance claim. She didn’t yet have an estimate for the amount of damage the vehicle caused.

“A few years ago a car went into the deli,” said Lynn Christensen, referring to the adjacent building she and her husband, Harry Christensen, also own. “People need to figure out the gas and brake pedals.”