Pedestrian pinned after van crashes into Danville store

By John Crane

Published: July 1, 2008

A van plowed into a pedestrian as he left the Kwik Shop on Audubon Drive on Monday afternoon, pinning him and shattering the store’s plate-glass window.

Danville police and rescue workers responded to a report of a crash at 3:48 p.m. at the Kwik Shop at 109 Audubon Drive, according to a news release from the police department.

When they arrived, they discovered a 1997 Dodge Caravan had hit the building, the release states.

The van’s driver, 23-year-old Edward Charles Green, of Danville, was attempting to park the vehicle when he lost control and it struck a column, pinning a man against the wall and the plate-glass window, police said.

The pressure against the glass caused it to break, Capt. Tim Jones said.

He said Green was vague when talking to investigators about the accident.

“He’s saying he didn’t know what happened,” Jones said, adding alcohol was not a factor in the incident.

The victim, whom police would not identify, suffered upper-body injuries including scrapes and abrasions from broken glass and was taken to Danville Regional Medical Center.

The injuries were not life threatening, Jones said.

Green was not injured but is charged with reckless driving in a parking lot. More charges could be filed following further investigation, Jones said.

The Kwik Shop sustained about $5,000 in damages, while the incident caused about $1,000 in damages to the van, police said.

Linda Scearce, the store’s assistant manager, said she had just finished waiting on the victim before the incident. She was talking to customers when she heard the van hit the column.

“It made such a horrible noise,” Scearce said. “I thought it was a gunshot.”

She said the man hobbled away after being hit and that Green didn’t check on him but asked Scearce how much damage was done to the store. She said Green appeared to be panicking when he saw the damage.

Younger drivers tend to speed into her parking lot in their automobiles, Scearce said. Authorities, however, have not said if speed was a factor in the accident.

Contact John R. Crane at or (434) 791-7987.