No injuries reported in crash at island Thriftway

Published 10:30 am Thursday, July 24, 2025

No one was reportedly injured in a minor collision in the late morning of Tuesday, July 22 when a motorist accidentally struck the wall of Vashon’s Thriftway store.

The incident could have been much worse: Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Interim Fire Chief Ben Davidson said he was told there was a child near a garbage can just a few feet away from the crash site.

“It sounds like it was a near miss,” he said.

The vehicle, an electric BMW, hopped a parking curb and struck a part of the wall on the store’s east side, near the area where customers store their bicycles. It also smashed one of the wooden posts supporting the covered roof over the bicycle area and appeared to have broken part of the metal railing on the access ramp to the store.

The crash dislodged a piece of wall, behind which was the main riser for the building’s water suppression system. That equipment “seems to be intact, but they’re going to have it inspected and repaired as needed,” Davidson said Tuesday.

The driver said that her brakes didn’t work, the chief said, leading to the collision.

VIFR has shoring equipment that can be used to temporarily stabilize structures that are at risk of collapse, Davidson said, which crews used to keep the roof structure safe until permanent repairs could be made.

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s engine 355 responded to the situation, along with a fire truck, ambulance and King County Sheriff’s deputy.

As shoppers streamed in-and-out of the grocery store, firefighters, the sheriff’s deputy and Thriftway employees removed parts of the destroyed wall and checked over the water suppression equipment revealed by the crash. But for the crash area, the scene resembled a typically calm, sunny weekday morning at the island grocer.

“We’re happy everyone is safe,” said store manager Cliff Silkett.