ISSUE
Friday, August 22, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 73
An 86-year-old man rammed his car into a dairy store in Waitara, Taranaki, on Monday, October 10 at about 2 pm, smashing the store’s glass windows and hitting the cash counter.
So impactful was the collision that it ended up damaging the showcases, a refrigerator, and the glass box of the Raleigh Street Dairy owned by 60-year-old Pran Nath Sharma, who has been running the store for the past eight years.
Sharma, who was in the store when the accident took place, immediately called the police ambulance and the fire services on 111 to take stock of the situation.
“There was smoke all around and I feared the driver had suffered serious injuries,” said a shaken Sharma, who has previously been a victim to a robbery.
The driver of the Nissan Largo that rammed into Sharma’s store was trying to park his car outside the shop when he accidently hit the accelerator instead of hitting the brake, leading to the accident.
There were no injuries reported and the paramedic who had arrived at the accident left soon after.
The police stayed on the scene, coordinating with the fire fighters engaged in taking the car out of the shop.
Sharma was pleased with large amount of community support he received immediately after the incident.
“On Tuesday, a few old acquaintances and a customer popped in and helped me for a couple of hours in putting back the shelves and cleaning the store,” he said.
“The man was old and ended up colliding the car into my shop. Although the damage was huge, I was more worried about his safety. I even offer him juice to calm his nerves,” Sharma said.
An 86-year-old man rammed his car into a dairy store in Waitara, Taranaki, on Monday, October 10 at about 2 pm, smashing the store’s glass windows and hitting the cash counter.
So impactful was the collision that it ended up damaging the showcases, a refrigerator, and the glass box of the Raleigh...
An 86-year-old man rammed his car into a dairy store in Waitara, Taranaki, on Monday, October 10 at about 2 pm, smashing the store’s glass windows and hitting the cash counter.
So impactful was the collision that it ended up damaging the showcases, a refrigerator, and the glass box of the Raleigh Street Dairy owned by 60-year-old Pran Nath Sharma, who has been running the store for the past eight years.
Sharma, who was in the store when the accident took place, immediately called the police ambulance and the fire services on 111 to take stock of the situation.
“There was smoke all around and I feared the driver had suffered serious injuries,” said a shaken Sharma, who has previously been a victim to a robbery.
The driver of the Nissan Largo that rammed into Sharma’s store was trying to park his car outside the shop when he accidently hit the accelerator instead of hitting the brake, leading to the accident.
There were no injuries reported and the paramedic who had arrived at the accident left soon after.
The police stayed on the scene, coordinating with the fire fighters engaged in taking the car out of the shop.
Sharma was pleased with large amount of community support he received immediately after the incident.
“On Tuesday, a few old acquaintances and a customer popped in and helped me for a couple of hours in putting back the shelves and cleaning the store,” he said.
“The man was old and ended up colliding the car into my shop. Although the damage was huge, I was more worried about his safety. I even offer him juice to calm his nerves,” Sharma said.
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