A vehicle plowed into a pawn shop in the 8100 block of West Waters Avenue in Tampa on Saturday morning, tearing through the storefront and leaving behind significant structural damage. The driver, a 74-year-old woman, told deputies she accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake while trying to park.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says its 911 Dispatch Center received the call at 9:20 a.m., reporting that a vehicle had crashed into a building in the area. According to HCSO
, deputies arriving on scene found that the vehicle had driven straight into the pawn shop, causing damage serious enough to compromise the structure.
The shop was open for business at the time of the crash, but the sheriff's office says no customers or employees were struck or injured. The driver was taken to a hospital with what HCSO described as non-life-threatening injuries. The agency has not released further details about her identity or her specific injuries.
Address Points to Two Possible Businesses
Public records list two separate pawn businesses at 8120 W. Waters Avenue, the same block where the crash occurred. EZPAWN's own store locator lists a location at that address, while a business directory maintained by the Chamber of Commerce identifies Value Pawn & Jewelry at the same street number.
Not the First Time a Pawn Shop Has Taken a Hit
Vehicles crashing into pawn shops have happened before in the Tampa Bay area, though there is nothing to suggest a broader pattern tying the incidents together. In Clearwater, a 90-year-old man drove his Cadillac into Quick Cash Pawn on Drew Street one Tuesday afternoon, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Police and firefighters found the wrecked car lodged inside the store around 1:45 p.m., though a passenger in the vehicle and the store's owner, who was inside at the time, were not harmed.
In that case, authorities believed the driver had hit the gas instead of the brake while attempting to park, a detail that echoes what the West Waters Avenue driver told deputies. The Clearwater driver was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor cuts, and that crash remained under investigation at last report, per the same account.
No additional information about the cause or an ongoing investigation into Saturday's crash on West Waters Avenue has been released. HCSO has not said whether charges or citations are expected to follow.
