Vehicle Slams into Front of Pizzeria at Mercer Mall

An out-of-control car driven by an elderly woman jumped the curb and accelerated along the covered walkway outside a row of stores at Mercer Mall in Lawrence Township this morning (Monday, March 5). After damaging two pillars that support the roof of the walkway and slamming into the front wall of a pizzeria, the vehicle came to rest amid some landscaping.

More than one bystander who stopped to snap a cell phone photo of the smashed car sitting in front of the Heavenly Ham and Red Moon Pizza storefronts called it a “miracle” and police officers and firefighters at the scene agreed it was amazing that no one was seriously hurt or killed in the crash.

A township building inspector ultimately determined that the damage, while esthetically impressive, did not pose a significant threat to the structural integrity of the walkway roof.

The accident at the shopping center in the 3300 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1) was reported at 10:18 a.m.

Gloria Riccardi, a 79-year-old resident of Blanketflower Lane in West Windsor, told police that she had just backed her 2008 Lexus out of a handicapped parking space and, shifting gears to move forward, apparently stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, Lawrence Township police spokesman Lt. Charles Edgar said.

The Lexus sped forward, crossed several parking spaces, went through the fire lane in front of the stores, jumped the curb, passed between two support pillars for the covered walkway roof, struck the front of the Red Moon Pizza, bounced off and finally stopped atop the decorative shrubbery and grass, according to Edgar and emergency personnel at the scene.

The impact of the car took out a large chuck from one of the pillars, displaced the second pillar on its base, and caved in the brickwork at the front of the restaurant.

Luckily, no shoppers were walking in the area at the time, and Riccardi suffered only from a minor complaint of pain, Edgar said. He said she was transported by a Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Service ambulance to University Medical Center at Princeton to be checked out as a precaution.

Since it was not immediately known how badly damaged the Red Moon Pizza wall and the walkway roof pillars were, police and township firefighters immediately condoned off the area and evacuated workers and customers from the pizzeria and the businesses on either side, Heavenly Ham and Great Looks 4 Less hair salon.

The township building inspector arrived a short time later and determined that the walkway roof was still “structurally sound” and that the Heavenly Ham and Great Looks 4 Less businesses could be reopened, Edgar said. He said Red Moon Pizza was ordered closed until repairs could be made to the front wall.

Officer Chris DiMeglio investigated the accident and issued Riccardi a ticket for careless driving, Edgar said.