Car Crashes Into Dillard's at Countryside Mall

A 64-year-old motorist intentionally drove his Honda Accord at a high rate of speed into Dillard's at Westfield Countryside Mall, sparking a fire on the east side of the building Wednesday, according to police.

The Dillard's department store at Countryside Mall will partially reopen Thursday morning, while crews continue to clean up and repair damage caused by a car that crashed into the store. The store's second floor will reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday; however, the lower level will remain closed, according to a Dillard's staff member.

Yellow caution tape was placed around the closed store's lower level entrances Wednesday morning, while crews assessed damage from the fire and crash. A steady stream of onlookers drove through the mall's parking lot in an effort to get a glimpse of the large hole in the side of the department store. TV crews covered the story from the parking lot.

Police say that Ellis Vaughn of Clearwater, the driver, was extricated and transported to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa with serious but non-life threatening injuries and burns. He has since been transferred to Tampa General.

He told investigators that he was trying to commit suicide, police said. The crash occurred at about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Dillard's was closed Wednesday, as smoke is cleared from the building and repair work gets under way to fix a large hole in the building. There also is water damage due to the store's sprinkler system, which was activated.

Police and firefighters arriving at the mall store, at 27001 U.S. Highway 19 North, at 2:04 a.m. Wednesday, discovered the hole and located one vehicle inside the store.

Twenty-four firefighting "units" arrived to fight the blaze, according to a police report. They included Clearwater Fire and Rescue, Dunedin Fire Department, St. Petersburg Fire Department, Tampa Fire Department, Sunstar Paramedics and
Clearwater Police.

There was extensive fire, water and smoke damage to a back storage room where the incident took place. Sprinklers extinguished the fire almost immediately. It took nearly four hours and a ventilation truck from Tampa Fire and Rescue to get smoke out of Dillard's.

The media swarmed the scene and tweeted pre-dawn photos that include the one above.

Mall video surveillance will not be released at this time as it is part of the investigation.

Vaughn told police that he had left his residence unlocked with a suicide note and next-of-kin information. Units responded to Vaughn's residence and confirmed this information.

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