The Grand Marais Motors building was damaged on Monday, May 19 when a driver accidentally drove into the rear wall. No one was inside the building at the time of the crash and the driver was not injured.
A party picking up a rental car from Grand Marais Motors in Grand Marais accidentally crashed into the rear of the building at 7:33 p.m. on Monday, May 19.
Deeneshwar Maharaj, 65, of Minneapolis, had just picked up the rental car, a 2007 Toyota Corolla, and was turning around. No one was inside the building, but Steve Lashinski of Grand Marais Motors was in the parking area. Lashinski said he noticed that the driver seemed to be having some difficulty. He watched with shock as the car suddenly took off and crashed into the building.
Unused to the vehicle, Maharaj had accidentally pressed the wrong pedal—the gas, instead of the brakes. As he pressed harder attempting to stop, the car hit the building, pushing the metal siding several feet into the building’s interior.
The airbags did not deploy. Maharaj was the only passenger in the car and he was wearing his seatbelt, so he did not suffer any injury.
Lashinski is waiting for estimates for repair of the damage, but said the damage to the building was not too severe because the car fortunately struck the wall between supporting posts. “It could have been much worse,” he said.
The car was also relatively undamaged, with primarily scrapes from going through the metal building.
No citation was issued.
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