Just as islanders turned out to the Village Green for the Vashon Farmers Market Saturday morning, a silver sedan across the street in the Thriftway Parking Lot drove over the sidewalk and hit the western-most door of the Vashon ACE hardware store.

Sgt. Christine Elias of the King County Sheriff’s Office said that a 76-year-old man was attempting to park but hit the gas instead of the brake. Vashon Island Fire & Rescue responded to evaluate the driver, but there were no injuries. The door of the business was damaged in the accident.

First responders cut the battery cables of the vehicle as a precaution because smoke began to emanate from the car, according to Elias.

John Yates, who owns the business, said nothing like this has happened before, but noted that there have been other accidents in the parking lot. There were three employees and two customers in the store at the time who all heard the impact but did not witness the accident.

“We’re just thankful nobody was hurt,” said Yates, adding that he extends his best wishes to the man driving the car. “It could have been bad.”

Yates said that customers will have to use the main doors near the entrance of Thriftway for the time being to enter and exit the store. A contractor was on site on Monday; the door will have to be completely replaced.