CAMAS — Two phones rang persistently Friday morning as Ali Alquraisha paced around inside Camas Produce, the little shop he owns off Northeast Everett Street.
Broken glass, chunks of concrete and smashed vegetable containers were piled at the front of the store.
“We were here until 2 a.m. A crew came in and helped clean up the mess,” Alquraisha said.
Camas police say Terra Scoles-Stark, 39, a local resident, was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving after she plowed a 2017 GMC Terrain SUV through the store’s front windows Thursday evening.
Scoles-Stark walked away uninjured, so did a passenger and people who’d been inside the store at the time of the crash.
Alquraisha said he wasn’t there when the woman took a detour into his business, but he arrived before she was escorted away by an officer.
“I was told she rode in and didn’t stop. She just kept going,” Alquraisha said.
The store was closed late morning Friday, and it will likely remain shuttered for some time.
“It doesn’t happen in a week or two,” Alquraisha said of reopening. “We’ll try and open as fast as possible.”
While two aisles sat untouched at each end of the store, the middle of the building was empty save for small bits of wreckage. A portion of the vegetable crisper that sits at the back of the store had been pushed about a foot by the SUV; some of the cardboard boxes that sit on top of the equipment were toppled over.
Glass shattered everywhere when the SUV drove through. Alquraisha said he’d have to replace all of the produce and most of the other items. He was still doing inventory and didn’t venture a guess as to what it would all cost.
This isn’t the first setback for Alquraisha and his store over the last three years. He said construction on a nearby freeway and sewer line work on Everett Street the previous summers kept some customers away.
And this is the third time a vehicle has crashed into the store.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “Three times. It’s very difficult.”
Camas building official Bob Cunningham said there was a similar incident at the store about 10 years ago. Three years ago, a car ran into the corner of the store, Cunningham said. None of the crashes caused significant structural damage, and neither did Thursday’s crash.
The SUV missed any major structural supports, Cunningham said, so as soon as Alquraisha can adequately clean up, Camas Produce should be able to reopen.
As Alquraisha examined the damage, customers poked their heads through the remaining front door, offering condolences and asking if they could help.
Tracy Thorson said she’s been coming to the store for about 15 years. She said Alquraisha’s prices are fair. She often comes into the store and argues with Alquraisha about their rivaling football teams.
“It’s sad. He’s definitely part of the community,” Thorson said.
Despite the latest hardship, Alquraisha is optimistic about getting things back up and running.
“With customers like that, you betcha,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, I’d be in a panic.”
Jerzy Shedlock: 360-735-4522; jerzy.shedlock@columbian.com; Twitter: twitter.com/jerzyms
