Car crashes into salon, misses women by two minutes

A car plowed into a Federal Way hair salon Tuesday afternoon, missing two women who had been standing near the window two minutes earlier.

The close call was captured on surveillance video shown to KIRO 7 by business owner Mike Accettola.

PHOTOS: Car drives through Federal Way salon

It shows a stylist helping an elderly woman with two canes out one side of the building. She goes back inside and into the bathroom. In less than 60 seconds, a car crashes into The Hair Joint salon on Pacific Highway South.

“It’s just incredible nobody got hurt,” building owner Mike Clausen said. “Through the grace of God they weren't standing there right at that moment.”

Stylist Carla Lemar spent the afternoon trying to find and save her tools.

“The girls called me and they said that my station was completely destroyed,” she said.

Fire crews extricated the driver, who suffered minor injuries. Federal Way police said the accident appeared to have been caused by a medical emergency that caused the female driver, who was heading northbound on Pacific Highway South, to cross over the median, onto the sidewalk on the west side of the road, jump a curb, and then plow through a power pole before hitting the salon.

Lemar is just thankful she was not at work.

“This probably would have killed us, if we would have been here,” she said.

Accettola estimates tens of thousands of dollars in damage were done and it could take months to rebuild. But he is more worried about the five stylists, most in their 60s or 70s, who work there and depend on the money they earn.

He hopes some salons in the Federal Way area might have open stations they could rent to the stylists on a temporary basis.

Accettola said any businesses with space could contact him at his other business, Federal Way Used Cars, at 253-529-1597.