Local retailer gets jolt when jeep crashes through wall

By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News

John Hendricks received a major jolt Wednesday afternoon.
Hendricks, owner of the Lodge and University Screenprint, was sitting at his desk working shortly before 3 p.m. when a Jeep Grand Cherokee came crashing through the concrete brick wall of his office.
“I thought the world had come to an end,” said Hendricks. “I opened my eyes and looked up and all I could see was white because of all the dust.”

Carolyn Sullivan was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee and was attempting to park outside the business when the crash occurred. It is believed the accelerator pedal in the vehicle became stuck as she was attempting to park.
The airbags in the Jeep were activated in the crash. Sullivan, who was going to check on a T-shirt order at University Screenprint when the crash occurred, was later taken from the scene by family members. 
Other than being covered with dust, Hendricks himself was unhurt, mostly likely to due his high-back office chair, he said. Some of his employees had to move his desk to free him from the rubble after the crash, he said.
Hendricks said the electrical conduit lines — which are encased in steel piping — are what stopped Sullivan’s Jeep from coming further into the building. He and his employees were grateful that she struck the brick wall and not the glass facades of the public areas of the University Screenprint and Lodge stores, Hendricks said.
“We were thankful that there were other cars parked in front of those areas,” he said.
An electrical inspector examined the power lines and fuse box in Hendricks’ office and a contractor placed a temporary patch over the large hole in the wall the resulted from the crash. Both the Lodge and University Screenprint are scheduled to be open for business as usual today, Hendricks said.
Sullivan’s Jeep Grand Cherokee sustained moderate damage to its front end and frame. It was towed from the scene.