Car crashes into Shirley deli, causing minor injuries to an owner inside

A car accelerated through the Parkway Deli and Convenience storefront on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley Friday afternoon, causing minor injuries to one of the owners inside.

At approximately 12:35. p.m. Friday, the driver, a 69-year-old woman, crashed a Subaru Forester through the concrete and glass exterior of the deli between Joe's Pizza and Shirley Smoke and Cigars.

Brookhaven Fire Department Lieutenant Brian LaMonica Jr. said he and his team responded to assist Mastic Fire Department at 12:46 p.m. He said one of two people inside the building sustained "minor injuries" and that the driver, who remained on the scene, "refused medical attention.

Police were on the scene. A Suffolk police spokesperson said the driver was not currently facing charges and that the incident did not appear criminal in nature. An investigation remains ongoing.

Sheikh Zubair, one of the shops owners, said one of his partners was the man injured inside. He said the glass hit his partner and that he was sent to Brookhaven Hospital where he will be further evaluated and may receive stitches. 

"That’s my concern," Zubair said of his partner. "I do not care about anything else right now."

Brookhaven Town Fire Marshals must now "evaluate the integrity of the structure," LaMonica Jr. said, and confirm if the pizzeria and smoke shop on either side of the convenience store can safely remain open, which they were as of 1:45 p.m.

As Zubair waited for fire marshals to inspect his deli, the front of which was littered with broken glass, concrete chucks and remnants of a crushed counter, he said he was "shocked" when the Subaru "just accelerated" as they neared a parking space in front of his shop "and boom."

"We’ve never even had a robbery before," he said.