A North Vancouver real estate agent says her sister is lucky to be alive after a car plowed through the front of their Edgemont Village agency and right through her desk.
Laura Clarke was at home just before 10 a.m. Saturday when her alarm company called to tell her an alert had been triggered at her office, Team Clarke Realty on Woodbine Drive. Saying it was a window alarm, the operator guessed it had been triggered by a newspaper hitting the glass, but when Clarke drove to the agency a few minutes later, she saw the culprit was significantly larger - and potentially much more deadly.
"It wasn't a newspaper; it was a car," she said. "It (had gone) right over the curb, across the sidewalk and through our window into my sister Brooke's office."
The vehicle's driver had apparently been attempting to pull into a nearby parking space when she had hit the wrong pedal, sending it rocketing into the business, according to police. The Chevrolet Cavalier made it partway through a second wall before coming to a stop. No one was injured.
Clarke said she felt extremely lucky. "We're Realtors; we work all different hours," she said. "Brooke could have been there, working on an offer. . . . She probably would have been very, very seriously injured if not killed."
The agency remains open for business.
Although the incident was unusual, Clarke is considering installing a barrier - possibly a concrete planter - in front of the window, she said, "just as a precaution."
