An 73-year-old female was taken to Shoalhaven District Hospital after crashing into It’s Berry Necessary in the car park off Albert Street behind the IGA Supermarket around 11am.

Business owner Phillipa (surname withheld) was luckily outside her shop, cleaning cobwebs from the veranda, when the white Subaru Outback ploughed through into the store.

She said she heard a loud bang and smelt burning rubber.

“The bang was so loud. It brought back memories of the Newcastle earthquake which I lived through,” she said.

“I realised a car had smashed through the front of the store.

“I was lucky I wasn’t standing inside the shop at the time.

“I’m happy I wasn’t injured and the elderly woman wasn’t hurt as well.”

It appears the driver put the car into drive instead of reverse and travelled forward into the shop front.

The store suffered structural damage with NSW Fire and Rescue Berry and Albion Park brigades, NSW Ambulance Rescue and NSW Police all attending the scene.

Fire crews were stabilising the building, hoping to prop up the verandah area, so the car could be removed and the extent of the damage assessed.

Due to the damage, Phillipa was unsure when the business would reopen.

South Coast Register