Vehicle crashed into Wisconsin Rapids BP gas station

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WFHR / WIRI) – A vehicle crashed into a Wisconsin Rapids BP storefront on 1711 Baker Drive in Wisconsin Rapids on Monday morning. 

The nephew of the owner, Bipin Regmi explains what took place.

“Someone was trying to pump gas and yeah, I came a little bit late but the fire department and police told [us] that she had some kind of medical issue,” explains Regmi. “She had a chest pain, and then instead of hitting [the] brakes, she hit the gas pump and she hit the storefront and you can see the damage behind me.”

The damage caused by the vehicle crashing into the storefront is extensive. The vehicle was fully inside of the store. It was removed from the property promptly by emergency responders.

The owner was injured

The owner, Krishna Gautam was behind the counter when the vehicle smashed into the store. He was hit by something and received injuries to his leg and back. Both Krishna and the driver of the vehicle were taken to the hospital to be evaluated. Krishna was back at the store with his wife, Bonita, before noon.

The little daughter of the owners is often at the store. She opens the door to greet customers as they enter. Thankfully, Bonita said she was not there on Monday.

The building was inspected by the City of Wisconsin Rapids and condemned as unfit for human habitation. Contractors were onsite working on a plan to board up the damage and protect the remaining property.

The store is closed for now

Regmi says the family plans to reopen the BP gas station as soon as feasible.

“Yeah, it’s not for sure now, but we estimated one to two weeks for sure because we have to go through a lot of process. But yeah, we’ll try our best to open as soon as possible,” Regmi said.