Damaged Plainview Dry Cleaner Back in Business

Perhaps this is the definition of the entrepreneurial spirit.

One day after a  car jumped a curb and plowed through the , leaving an employee injured, the Plainview establishment was back in business Thursday, its owner at the helm.

Owner Paul McHugh was on the job by late afternoon Wednesday. On Thursday, he was catering to customers from behind temporary sheets of plywood serving as a store front. A big sign said in red capital letters: "OPEN FOR BUSINESS."

McHugh said his employee was saved from the oncoming vehicle by the counter she was behind. The errant car pushed her some 20 feet through the building, authorities said.

The employee, identified only as "Laurie,"was released from and is recovering at home, McHugh said. Well-wishers were coming in all day to check on the woman and McHugh. 

The incident took place just after 9 a.m. Wednesday in the at the intersection of Old Country and Plainview roads. 

Members of the  freed the injured woman from the wreckage. The driver of the car suffered minor injuries. Authorities believe the woman put the car in drive, rather than reverse, and lost control of the vehicle as it lurched forward. 

McHugh has been in business about 20 years and owns 15 stores in the chain. He said a second employee was scheduled to be at work at the time but was running late. That worker, a tailor, usually sites right in front of the plate glass window that came crashing down.