Car crashes into business, again


Photos by IAN BRADLEY Acorn Newspapers

CRASH SITE–The Toyota Camry comes to a rest. Photos by IAN BRADLEY Acorn Newspapers

A car crashed through the front door of Daily Breath Pilates in Westlake Village Friday, the second time in a week a vehicle has barreled into a Conejo Valley business and caused damage.

At the pilates studio in the County Line Shopping Center, trainer Teresa Fleckenstein and a private client were wrapping up a session at 12:30 p.m. when a Toyota Camry smashed into the storefront.

Neither Fleckenstein, her client, nor the driver were injured in the incident at the strip mall on Lakeview Canyon and Agoura Roads.

“I heard (tires) squealing. I was standing by the counter and then ran to the back of the room,” Fleckenstein said. “My client was (in the back of the room). There was the noise and then bam, she was in the room.”

Fleckenstein, a survivor of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in Las Vegas, said the loud noise of the car hitting the building left her shaken.

The vehicle tore through the front doors of the business and destroyed several potted plants outside. The cost of the damage isn’t known.

The woman driving the car declined to speak to The Acorn.

A deputy with the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station said the accident happened because the driver mistakenly pushed the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Fleckenstein said she thinks the business will be up and running again soon.

“The owner of the building is really good about repairing things. I’d guess we’ll be back by Sunday or Monday but it’s hard to say,” Fleckenstein said. “You hear about stuff like this happening.”

On July 15 a Chevy Tahoe SUV careened into the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Newbury Park causing damage and minor injuries. The 71-year-old driver of that vehicle told police her accelerator got stuck as she exited the northbound 101 Freeway at Wendy Drive.                                                                                
—Ian Bradley