Screeching SUV Slams Into Busy Supermarket

A 68-year-old Lynn woman in a screeching SUV did a full 360 on Friday afternoon in front of Crosby’s Marketplace, 125 Canal St., before slamming into the building, narrowly missing the teens working at the registers in from the of the store, according to authorities.

No one was seriously injured though two women were transported to an area hospital, a 58-year-old woman who was shaken by the incident, and the driver of the 1998 Lincoln Navigator.

Salem Police Lt. Matthew Desmond said the incident began when the woman backed out of a parking space, pulled forward and struck a snowbank. She ping-ponged the SUV before it spun around and plowed through the building.

“She accelerated and caused the tires to spin and screech,” Lt. Desmond said. With the tires spinning and her foot on the gas, the vehicle crashed through the building. “There were visible skidmarks where she did a 360.”

There were a number of people in the store when the SUV burst into the building.

“There were teenagers crying,” said Salem Deputy Fire Chief Glen Beaudet. “She stopped only feet from them.”

Deputy Chief Beaudet said it was lucky that no one was seriously injured.

“That tire was spinning, there was a mound of rubber on the floor,” Deputy Chief Beaudet said. “That car was headed towards the registers.”

He said it appeared that some sort of metal on the floor stopped the vehicle from lurching any farther.

Catherine Jessamy-Babb, 68, of Lynn, will be summons for operating to endanger. Lt. Desmond said he will also file a request for Immediate Threat - License Suspension - with the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles.

Despite the gaping hole in the building, Deputy Chief Beaudet said It appeared that one of the beams may have been damaged. The building city’s building inspector was called, and will request a structural engineer to inspect the building. The store was closed and boarded up.

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Photo Credit: Salem Fire Department