An Oakwood business sustained heavy damage when a driver suffered a seizure Tuesday morning, ran off a roadway and crashed into the building.
Oakwood Police Capt. Rick Whaley said officers responded to the crash around 8:45 a.m. and found the vehicle smashed into the front of the store, which is located at the corner of Winder Highway and Sloan Mill Road.
"The driver had a seizure while driving on Sloan Mill," Whaley wrote in an email. "The vehicle left the roadway and struck the pawn store. [There was] extensive damage to the front of the store."
Whaley said EMS crews were called to check on the driver. Hall County Fire Capt. Zach Brackett said the driver refused treatment and left the scene without injury.
The owner of shop, Shane Cheek, said he received a call from his alarm company and logged onto his computer to take a look at his security cameras.
"All I can see is a car has crashed through my storefront. My first thought is that it's a smash-and-grab type of crime," Cheek said. "As a business owner, just hearing about a gun store that was crashed into and the thieves stole firearms - that was my first concern."
Cheek said he typically would have been in the store if it had been a school day. He said he usually takes his daughter to school and then goes to work, but because school is out for the holidays, he had not left his home at the time of the crash. No one else was there, since the store doesn't open until 10 a.m.
"We're happy to say the driver of the vehicle was not hurt," Cheek said via email.
