Brockton woman says sneeze caused wild crash into store

BROCKTON — As employees were inside the combined gas station and coffee shop, a quiet night turned hectic as glass shattered and suddenly flung throughout the business.

A sedan had crashed into the front of the Westside Shell, at 945 Belmont St., causing the large glass windows to shatter and come crashing down on Thursday night, about 10:07 p.m.

One resident described hearing a big bang at the time of impact, saying it sounded like a multi-vehicle crash that had occurred on Belmont Street. But she said she was surprised to see a vehicle had crashed into the gas station.

An employee of Marylou’s Coffee, which has space inside the gas station, said she was inside her car in the parking lot when the vehicle went on a collision course through the lot and into the building.

“They came through here, I heard it,” she said. “And then, when I turned my head, that’s when I saw the car hit. I was more concerned about my co-workers. It’s crazy. It’s definitely insane.”

Police say 21-year-old Brianna Reyes was driving the vehicle prior to the crash. Police located her on scene and she was taken by ambulance to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital in Brockton with minor injuries.

But her passenger fled prior to police arriving – with their young child.

“The male passenger exited the vehicle and took his son with him who was in the back,” said Brockton police spokesman Darren Duarte. “He and his son fled the area before emergency crews arrived.”

Witnesses said the woman was driving the Honda Accord eastbound on Belmont Street when the vehicle crossed into the opposite lane, heading for the gas station.

Police say Reyes said she “sneezed,” causing her to lose control of the car.

“The vehicle jumped a curb and drove through bushes and the parking lot of the Shell gas station before crashing into the convenience store,” Duarte said.

Reyes, of 15 Sherman St., Brockton, will be summonsed to court on charges of reckless operation of a motor vehicle, malicious destruction of property over $1,200 and a marked lanes violation.

Police were able to review surveillance video that showed the male passenger grabbing the young boy from the car and fleeing the area westbound, heading toward Route 24.

The woman contacted her husband from the scene on the FaceTime app and police believed he may be in nearby woods due to trees in the background, but he was not located.

Maria Benitez, who identified herself as the mother of the driver, said her daughter was in the crash with her husband and their 18-month-old child.

“The father escorted the child to the hospital and was admitted way before the mother, who was taken by ambulance, got to the hospital,” she said. “I personally think he did the right thing.”

She said late Friday morning that her daughter and the child were “doing well” and resting.

The front of the building had been boarded up by the morning.