Only feet away from a large crowd inside the bookstore, the driver of a Mercedes-Benz broke through the window on the left side of the front door at Village Well Books & Coffee. On July 15, 2025, at about 8:30 pm, the car drove through the intersection and onto the sidewalk; the city bike rack likely slowed the vehicle down just enough to prevent the death of the driver and bookstore staff.
“With everything being so busy…not only did we have the book discussion group, but Tuesday night there’s a running club that goes right by this corner…it’s miraculous that no one was hurt.” Jennifer Caspar, the owner of Village Well Books and Coffee, committed to opening for regular hours the next day. “I’m sure that bike rack was what saved us.”
The window, made of safety glass, was not shattered, but pushed in from it’s frame, leaving a space of several feet. The area is currently boarded up.
The driver, who was identified as a white male in his early thirties, was alleged to be driving under the influence. While seemingly uninjured – the police interviewed him while he sat on the curb near the car – he was taken from the scene in an ambulance.
Judith Martin-Straw
