A Port Townsend woman suffered a medical episode while driving Saturday that caused her to jump the curb and crash into the PT Kidz Kloset clothing shop on
Sims Way. A large piece of plywood now covers a hole in the storefront and inside is a mess of partially collapsed ceiling, broken glass, and scattered childrens clothing. 

The Subaru the woman was driving was still inside the shop Monday as investigators determined the front of the building was not structurally sound enough to remove the debris that was blocking the removal of the car. 

Port Townsend police officers were called to the scene at 4:13 p.m. June 20 after witnesses rushed to the aid of the driver, who was unconscious at the wheel with her foot on the gas. The woman suffered no injuries and, once conscious, did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said. She reportedly had been having intermittent fainting spells recently but still thought she was OK to drive. 

“It is a really crappy situation, but I am just glad that no one was hurt,” said shop owner Nettie Hawkins. 

When speaking to witnesses to the crash, Hawkins said one man told her he was driving westbound on Sims Way and would have been the victim of the crash if he had passed by just 20 seconds earlier. 

Witnesses who rushed to aid the woman had to shake her awake, Hawkins said, and when they took her out of the car and brought her outside, she had no knowledge the crash had taken place. “Where is my car?” she reportedly said.

Shirley Rudolph, the owner of the building, said it may take two to three months to repair the store because of the COVID-19 pandemic.